Mandy Williamson and family seconds from being crushed in wild storm at Howlong, NSW

A Howlong grandmother and her two-week-old grandson were seconds from being crushed by a falling carport when wild weather lashed the north east.

A family in Howlong, NSW were seconds from being crushed under their carport when wild weather lashed the region on Sunday.

Mandy Williamson, her husband David, daughter Abbey and two-week-old grandson, Henry, were watching the downpour when seconds later they went inside and the carport they were under came crashing down.

The Williamsons were one of many families impacted by the extreme weather after the unexpected storm wreaked havoc with more than 200 requests for help across the region.

Mandy Williamson said she was lucky to be alive after her carport came crashing down on Sunday. Photo: supplied.

“My husband and I were standing under it with our daughter and our two-week old grandson watching the downpour, when we turned around, walked inside and heard an almighty crash not 10 seconds later,” Williamson said.

“We were going to have 12 guests under there on Christmas Day. If the structure is still there by then we will have to have it indoors or possibly at my daughter’s house a few blocks away.

“It all depends if it’s cleaned up by then. It’s hanging on still by a couple of bolts in the mortar at his stage. It ripped a couple of bricks out as it came down and it killed my favourite egg chair.”

Mandy Williamson said "you gotta laugh or you'll cry" when realising her favourite chair had been destroyed. Photo: supplied.

Williamson thanked firefighters from Corowa and Howlong, the Corowa VRA rescue crew and Howlong Electrics, who rushed over to help the family disconnect torn lights.

Yarrawonga, an hour south of Wodonga, experienced the worst impacts of the region’s severe weather with 39 requests for help; 24 of which were for trees down on roads, buildings and powerlines.

Corryong, east of Albury, received 20 call-outs, including 11 trees on roads and six calls to damaged buildings.

Two homes in Walwa had their roofs torn off, and one property had 15 large trees down.

Winds reached 100km/h at Yarrawonga and 124km/h at Buller and Hotham.

Statewide, VIC SES volunteers responded to more than 700 requests for help with 522 trees downed across the state.

VIC SES north east region duty officer Troy Milner said he expected to see more extreme weather across the region this summer.

“Now is the time to prepare,” Milner said.

“Clean your gutters, downpipes and drains to ensure they are not blocked. If rainfalls are heavy enough, we also may see ‘flash flooding’ events.

“During these types of event, we may see water over roads, so allow extra time for your journey and never drive on flooded roads. Driving into flood water may be the last decision you take.”