Severe thunderstorms swept across Victoria on Sunday afternoon, unleashing torrential rain, flooding, and widespread power outages that left more than 25,000 residents in the dark. The Bureau of Meteorology had issued a severe weather warning earlier in the day, which has since been lifted.
The storms struck hardest in Melbourne and the state’s western regions, where Citipower and Powercor customers bore the brunt of the outages. Authorities said power was expected to be restored by 9pm. Streets in parts of Melbourne’s south-west, including Newport, were inundated as floodwaters surged to the doors of local businesses.
The Victoria State Emergency Service (VicSES) reported receiving 395 calls for help, most of them during the height of the storm in the afternoon. Werribee and Hoppers Crossing were identified as the worst-hit suburbs. Across the state, the SES recorded 215 cases of building damage and at least 80 fallen trees.
Residents described the storm’s intensity as unlike anything they had experienced before. Werribee local Eleanor Jewers compared the ferocity of the winds to a tornado. “I thought the roof of the bedroom was going to come off,” she said. “It was nuts, my sister ended up seeing pants flying off the clothesline.”
Emergency crews worked through the evening to clear debris, restore services, and respond to urgent calls. The scale of the damage highlighted the vulnerability of urban and suburban areas to sudden severe weather events.
While the immediate warning has been cancelled, authorities urged residents to remain cautious, as cleanup operations continue and further unsettled conditions remain possible in the coming days.
SEO Tags: Victoria thunderstorms damage, Melbourne storm flooding, Werribee storm destruction, Victoria power outage storm, SES storm response
#Tags: #abnewsinternational #Victoria #Storm #Melbourne #Weather
+ There are no comments
Add yours