By JESSE GRAHAM
WILD weather struck the Yarra Valley last week, with powerlines ripped from poles, trees toppling over roads and houses, and crews on call all night.
Winds reaching up to 100 kilometres per hour swept through the valley on the night between Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 September, resulting in over 60 callouts for the Healesville SES crew alone.
Deputy Controller Geoff Stott said crews were up all night working to clear roads and make them safe for drivers, with slews of large trees coming down.
A large tree fell onto the roof of a house on Ryans Road in Healesville about midnight, crashing through the roof and onto the bed in an upstairs bedroom.
Lyndy Winter said her 22-year-old son Tom was sleeping mere centimetres from a beam that came down from the roof, and that the tree tore a large hole in the roof as well as crushing the front verandah.
“I woke up with a smash to the house and yelled out for Tom – I knew exactly what had happened,” Ms Winter said.
Despite being shaken up from the experience, Ms Winter said she and Tom were uninjured, and thanked SES and CFA crews for their quick response in the middle of the night.
Mr Stott said this bout of wild weather differed from usual stormy nights by the sheer number of large trees falling down.
He said the crew received one callout in particular in Chum Creek, where around six large trees had come down over roads between the crew and the caller, all of which needed to be cut apart and removed.
The Healesville crew was one of the busiest in the state, joining Knox, Emerald and Northcote crews with between 60-100 jobs between 7pm on Monday and midnight on Tuesday.
The night of the storm coincided with the first day of VICSES StormSafe Week, which aims to raise public awareness of storm danger.
VICSES State Commander, Tim Wiebusch, said residents should work with SES crews to stay safe during storms, and be careful to avoid dangerous areas.
“This is a timely reminder to never drive through floodwater, even if you can see the road on the other side,” he said.
“It is extremely dangerous and can tie up emergency crews, who then need to undertake rescues that could have been prevented.
For more information, visit ses.vic.gov.au/prepare.
