By Matthew Sims
A man was trapped by a fallen tree, roads were blocked, buildings damaged and a trampoline ran astray during this week’s wild winds which also saw power outages across the region.
Winds up to 100km/h began in the morning of Tuesday 27 August and lasted overnight and well into the next day, with additional Ausnet field crews made available to respond to unplanned outages, but residents were warned restoration times might be longer than expected depending on the severity of network damage.
CFA, Victoria Police and paramedics responded to a rescue incident at Koolangara Park on Hope Street in Bunyip at about 11.42am on Tuesday 27 August, involving a tree which had fallen and trapped a man.
Five units from Longwarry, Bunyip and Nar Nar Goon responded to the incident and worked to remove the patient by about 12.15pm
One person aged in their 60s with upper body injuries was transported by road ambulance to Dandenong Hospital in a stable condition.
Another person was transported by road ambulance to Warragul Hospital.
In a separate incident, two CFA units from Cockatoo and Victoria Police responded to a tree down on a roof on a Springs Street home in Cockatoo at about 3.15am on Wednesday 28 August.
Crews found a large tree had fallen across the road and into a house, impacting a car and caravan.
Firefighters isolated all fuel sources to ensure there was no threat of fire, with the incident declared safe at 3.50am.
Other incidents included one CFA unit from Berwick responding to a tree fire threatening a house on Lydia Mary Drive in Berwick at about 11.38pm on Tuesday 27 August and CFA responding to a tree fire threatening a shed on Main Drain Road in Kooweerup at about 9.22pm on Tuesday 27 August, with six units responding from Kooweerup, Bayles and Tooradin deeming the incident under control at about 9.39pm and safe at 10.39pm.
More than 10,000 customers were without power as a result of 78 individual faults overnight on Tuesday, with Ausnet anticipating to have power restored by 6pm on Wednesday 28 August.
The wind continued to impact the network with new faults occurring throughout the morning and early afternoon on Wednesday.
The majority of outages were caused by trees, branches and debris hitting powerlines.
Emergency Management Mobile Assistance (EMMA) vehicle and community engagement teams were deployed to Monbulk, Belgrave, Emerald, Cockatoo, Gembrook, Hoddles Creek, Launching Place, and Woori Yallock.
Ausnet temporarily stationed generators in Emerald, Cockatoo and Mirboo so they were ready to be connected to provide backup power when the storm impacted the network.
Ausnet’s tips on how to respond to further storm conditions included calling its priority line anytime on 1800 818 832 or report a fault online via www.ausnetservices.com.au/outages/report-a-fault or via 13 17 99, having battery operated torches and radios at hand keep spare batteries handy too, keeping some cash on hand in case electronic payment systems go down during and making sure you can open your garage or fence manually so you can leave your home if the power goes out.
To keep track of any power outages, visit www.outagetracker.com.au
