Wind takes toll

By Lia Bichel
FIERCE wind took its toll on Cranbourne and surrounds over the weekend, with more than 30 calls flooding into SES early Sunday morning.
SES media spokeswoman Simone Myers said crews were in demand from 12am on Sunday.
Twenty-seven calls were made from Cranbourne between midnight and 2am. Four calls from Tooradin followed at 4.30am.
“They were mainly about minor building damage – fences blown down and a carport was about to fall due to the wind,” she said.
“There was a phone call from someone whose roof had been lifted and pillars been shifted.”
Cranbourne resident Valerie Allen said at 8am on Sunday, the strong winds pushed street lights over, blocking traffic on the South Gippsland Highway.
“It was lucky there wasn’t much traffic on the road,” Ms Allen said. “Three young men came out and moved the lights out of the way and someone called the police to inform them.”
Ms Myers said three of the four calls from Tooradin were also regarding a tree which had fallen on South Gippsland Highway posing a threat to drivers, and the fourth call was to report that a trampoline had blown onto a roof.
“This would have to be the second busiest storm day this year,” Ms Myers said.
“For the whole weekend we had about 1200 calls for assistance throughout Victoria, and about 900 of those happened in metro Melbourne and surrounds. That’s pretty significant.”
Eighty-four SES Units and more than 500 VICSES Volunteers responded to the state-wide calls.
“Sixty-three per cent of the tasks received related to clearing trees from public roadways, blocked driveways and damage to vehicles and private property,” Ms Myers said.
“Thirty-four per cent of the requests for assistance related to minor to moderate building damage with tiles and sheeting iron dislodging from roofs, loose awnings or verandas, posing a threat of injury to members of the public.”
Ms Myers said the busiest time for volunteers was between 7am and midday Sunday morning, with about 670 requests state-wide for SES assistance required.
The strongest winds were recorded at Melbourne Airport, with winds reaching 98km and at Mt William with winds gusting up to 133km and hour.