Strong winds and wild weather have swept across South Australia, causing property damage, toppling trees, and triggering dozens of emergency responses across the state over the weekend.
Wind gusts of almost 100 km/h were recorded in areas including Port Augusta, as severe conditions affected communities from regional centres to metropolitan Adelaide.
According to Ian Bonython, State Duty Officer for the State Emergency Service (SES), crews responded to approximately 60 incidents during the 24-hour period beginning at 7:00am on Saturday.
“The majority of these tasking has been split between the northern Adelaide suburbs and the Port Augusta area,” Mr Bonython said.
“With the taskings that came through for Port Augusta, around 20 were within half an hour.”
Most of the callouts involved wind-related damage, including fallen trees, damaged roofs, broken fences, and hazards posed by flying debris.
One of the more dramatic incidents occurred in Hyde Park, in Adelaide’s southern suburbs, where a large tree branch crashed into the customer car park of a local café.
Restaurant owner Laura Edmunds said the branch completely crushed the rear section of a parked vehicle.
“One of our chefs came running in and said, ‘the tree’s fallen again’,” Ms Edmunds said.
She described hearing a loud cracking sound moments before the branch struck the vehicle.
“There was a little bit of a big crack and then just the noise of the car really… thank God no one was inside.”
The owner of the vehicle was understandably distressed by the damage but relieved that nobody was injured.
“The owner was pretty upset, she said it was a relatively new car but she was just very lucky,” Ms Edmunds said.
“She’s got a grandchild baby seat in the car, so she’s very happy it didn’t hit anyone.”
Emergency services have urged residents to remain vigilant as cleanup efforts continue, particularly around damaged trees and structures that may remain unstable following the strong winds.
Authorities are continuing to monitor weather conditions and assess storm-related damage across affected regions.
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