Shire of Yarra Ranges worker Robyn Clark’s car was demolished following wild weather last week. 35590
By Tania Martin
WILD winds caused havoc across the region last week, as fallen trees left a trail of destruction.
Local SES and CFA crews received more than 650 calls for help.
It all started late Tuesday afternoon (25 August) with winds reaching speeds up to 120 km/h.
Hundreds of residents across the hills were also left in the dark with the majority of damage cause by trees falling on powerlines and roads.
A Shire of Yarra Ranges worker is also lucky to be alive after a tree demolished her car shortly after 5.50pm last Tuesday.
Robyn Clark was getting ready to brave the weather for the trip home when it happened.
“I heard someone running and yelling about a car…my car had been totalled by tree rage,” she said.
Ms Clark said she was just thankful to be alive.
“In storms these things happen, there’s no use thinking of what might have happened,” she said.
Morrison House CEO Jan Simmonds also lost her car after it was destroyed by a tree.
She had decided to stay behind at the Mt Evelyn adult learning centre to wait for some of the wind to die down.
“But we decided it was getting too dangerous to stay and were about to leave,” she said.
“We’ve been lucky that no-one died.”
Sassafras-Ferny Creek CFA Captain John Schauble said his crew was called out to more than five incidents involving trees.
Mt Dandenong Tourist Road was partially blocked for more than an hour as crews worked with chainsaws to clear the mess.
Mr Schauble said Mountain Highway in Sassafras was also closed for several hours after a number of trees came down.
Emerald SES volunteer Rob Tillman said the unit received more than 78 calls with the majority caused by trees falling on roads, driveways and powerlines.
He said the damage was spread out right across the hills, from Gembrook to Olinda.
In Emerald residents were left in the dark for more than 24 hours after a tree fell on powerlines in Kilvington Drive.
Many businesses had to close, but some decided to remain open.
Emerald Primary School children were transported back in time with no power.
Principal Mark Carver said the day was a novelty for the kids.
SP Aus-Net spokesman Sean Sampson said more than 150 crew members worked around the clock on Tuesday and Wednesday to restore the power.
But he said in some areas of the Dandenongs, damage to electricity infrastructure caused long delays in getting the power back on.
Residents in Emerald, Cockatoo, Monbulk, Silvan, Mt Evelyn, The Basin and Boronia were all left in the dark following the storms.
“Power outages never occur at a convenient time and we always work safely to get the lights back on as quickly as possible, but damaging winds can have a severe impact on electricity infrastructure,” Mr Sampson said.
