High winds cause chaos

Strong winds brought a tree down in Cranbourne East. Pictures: NARRE WARREN SES

By Brendan Rees

Narre Warren State Emergency Service volunteers responded to a call for help after a tree fell on a vehicle in Cranbourne East on Monday morning, 9 September.

Unit volunteer Bryce Wickham said strong winds had uprooted the large tree on Mayfield Road but luckily no one was injured.

“The home owner said that he’d woken to the sound of the strong winds but was then surprised to hear a very loud thud,” Mr Wickham said.

“When we saw the damage, we knew exactly what had caused that loud thud – it was the very large tree lying across the home owner’s car and precariously leaning on the house.”

The car wasn’t so lucky with a smashed windscreen and two large dents on the roof.

Mr Wickham said after assessing the area for safety hazards, they removed the tree.

It has been the second time in weeks that Narre Warren SES have been called to a job where the storms have caused uprooting of trees.

Narre Warren SES also responded to an incident on Sunday evening, 8 September where a van had collided with a tree on Dee Way Road in Narre Warren.

SES volunteer Sue Brauner said the van had collided with the tree causing the tree to split and collapse on the road about 10.40pm.

“It was very apparent that the tree was a hazard and needed to be safely cleared away,” Ms Brauner said.

“After a solid two hours of cutting the tree in torrential weather conditions, the job was complete and we could head back to the unit.”

On Saturday night, 7 September SES volunteers were called to help Victoria Police and Highway Patrol by providing lighting following a fatal crash in Hallam where a car, travelling on Apollo Drive, struck the rear of a parked truck just after 9.30pm, killing the male driver of the car.