Adelaide Hills residents counting the cost of storm damage

Families and businesses in the Adelaide Hills have begun the big clean-up and assessing the damage of the storm that left a trail of destruction through the area.

Residents in the Adelaide Hills have woken up to a trail of destruction after Saturday’s wild storm.

In Stirling, Miss Perez Kitchen and Bar was forced to close its doors for the weekend, costing valuable trade and all its fridge and freezer stock.

Owner Hannah Maher said she tried to save some of the produce, but didn’t anticipate the power being off for more than 24 hours.

“We visited the restaurant a few times to try to save what we can, but it’s too late now,” she said. “It’s absolutely devastating to our small family run business.”

Eden Hills couple, John and Christine Mudge, have been left in the dark and with no mobile phone reception, were left worried.

Christine and John Mudge lost trees and power at their Eden Hills home. The road in front of their house was still not clear of debris on Sunday. Picture: Dean Martin

A Stobie pole destroyed by the wild storm in Blackwood. Picture: Melissa Pitman/Twitter

Burnside CFS cleaning up after the storm. Picture: Burnside CFS

“If we go much longer we’re going to have to work out what to do with the freezer but we’re coping,” Mr Mudge said.

Confusion has been rife in the local community as residents condemned no outage updates.

“I’ve talked to our neighbours a couple of times and none of them have heard anything about when we’ll be back either,” Mr Mudge said.

After two years of Covid-19 cancellations, the storm threw another hurdle at the annual Blackwood Rotary Club Christmas Fair.

Having braced for rain, the Club’s work washed away within 10 minutes from the wild weather. Club president Lyn Muller estimated the damage bill around $25,000.

“We’ve lost tents and shelters, $1000 worth of books are trashed and we don’t know if the sound equipment will work again,” she said.

Rotary member Martin Gould with marquee scaffolding damaged in the storm. Picture: Keryn Stevens

The Club will be donating cakes and other food to the local food bank.

Stirling resident Louise Pfeiffer with husband Phil Crawford and their two boys Sebastian, 12 and Orlando, 9 channelled their creative spirit while waiting out the power outage.

The family are eating their way through their fridge and stocked freezer, starting with the perishables and childhood favourites – icy poles.

“My first thought was what will lose its shape … right dinner is pancakes and ice cream,” Mrs Pfeiffer said.

“It has made me realise that these severe weather events aren’t going away and we need to be more prepared.”

The family are passing the time playing vintage battery powered video games and attempting a 1000 piece puzzle.

On Keith Rd in Blackwood, a towering gum tree came down on a parked 4WD.

The rear and driver door windows of the grey Nissan XTrail were destroyed, with the remains of the smashed glass scattered on the surrounding ground.

Fallen powerlines and other debris lined the entrance to the driveway as neighbours gathered in the street to assess the damage.

Neighbour Jane Cole said she believed a tree was struck by lightning and fell on to the vehicle from the other side of the road.

Blackwood residents examine the damage to cars caused by the storm. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Blackwood got pummeled! pic.twitter.com/GtMmWMR3My

— Melissa Pitman (@MelissaPitman17) November 13, 2022

Mitcham Council workers begin the clean-up on Edgecombe Pde, Blackwood. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Storm damage along Keith Rd, Blackwood. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Storm damage along Keith Rd at Blackwood. Picture: Keryn Stevens

A car was crushed by a falling branch in Blackwood. Picture: Keryn Stevens

“It was like a cyclone … around 4:30pm we heard a massive crack,” she said.

“We were looking out the window and could see huge branches toppling … it wasn’t a case of if, it was when. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Ms Cole said it was not the first time the area has faced severe weather.

About six months ago, her home flooded because of insufficient draining in the street.

“Welcome to the Adelaide Hills,” she joked. “Drainage around here is absolutely terrible.

“I was told by the council it wasn’t in the budget to fix.”

Stunning pictures: Storm carves path of destruction through Adelaide

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Keith Rd remained without power on Sunday – it’s understood it could be Wednesday before it is restored.

Residents said they had received multiple messages from SA Power Networks, but no crews had attended the scene.

Neighbour Zoe Locke said access to some homes were blocked.

A CFS crew responded to a call in the nearby street and explained they had been on the job for the best part of 18 hours.

Originally published as Adelaide Hills residents counting the cost of storm damage