Melbourne’s storm clean-up begins

WRAP UP: MELBOURNE has been counting the cost of yesterday’s storms and wild winds, with clean-ups happening across the city.

Crews work to clear storm damage on Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd, Mount Dandenong. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

MELBOURNE has been counting the cost of yesterday’s storms and wild winds, with clean-ups happening across the city.

Victoria SES, on its Facebook page, said CFA, MFB and DEPI, SES volunteers responded to 3800 requests for help due to yesterday’s severe weather.

“While the weather is calmer today, be advised that coastal areas and beaches around the Bay and Mornington Peninsula have been hit hard, with damage to piers and boardwalks. Be especially careful around these areas,” the Facebook statement read.

Here is a wrap of Melbourne’s damage.

NORTH

Winds ripped metal from a Coles supermarket’s roof in Sydney Rd, Coburg, yesterday morning. News_Image_File: Moreland Council tweeted this photo of winds ripping metal from roof of Coles supermarket in Sydney Rd near Bell St in Coburgm yesterday. MFB firefighters attended the scene, with Moreland Council reporting many shops were left without power.

Nillumbik Council, in an online statement, reported receiving more than 250 calls for help yesterday, with staff clearing trees off roads until 10pm.

All roads, except Masthers Rd in Arthurs Creek, which is still partially blocked, have been cleared, The council is now clearing trees fallen on nature strips.

Diamond Creek’s Community Bank Stadium remains closed today while its roof is fixed.

Eltham CFA firefighters were called to a fire after a massive pine tree fell over a powerline in Hillcrest Avenue at 11.40am yesterday.

A CFA spokeswoman said the 100m long tree had blocked the road, but crews brought the fire under control by 12.05pm.

>>> EMERGENCY SERVICES ACROSS NORTH RESPOND TO CALLS AFTER WILD WEATHER

SES spokeswoman Nicole Alley said a tree came down over a power line, blocking Michelle Ave in Watsonia North this morning.

Ms Alley said emergency workers were called to the street at 6.30am, talking 90 minutes to clear the mess.

She said the SES received 11 calls from Watsonia North since the storms began, while 15 calls came in from Bundoora, four from Eltham, three from Greensborough and two from Kinglake.

Most jobs were related to fallen trees and building damage, she said.

Banyule Council arborists clean storm damage in Ford St, Ivanhoe.

Banyule Council was inundated with calls from 9am yesterday. Mayor Craig Langdon said arborist crews worked around the clock dealing with more than 100 phone calls.

Cr Langdon said a team of eight arborists, Parks Victoria staff, Eltham and Northcote SES units and police were ensuring priority jobs, which included fallen power lines across roads, were made safe.

“Thankfully no-one was hurt and the damage was limited to broken fences and roofing tiles as well as some scratched cars,” Cr Langdon said.

That wind was so strong I swear I saw a couple of beards tumble down Smith St Collingwood yesterday. #melbweather

— Cup of Burros (@KurtDecker1) June 25, 2014

Seaside infrastructure in pier-el #melbweather pic.twitter.com/s3Sess7T7u

— Ruby-Jean Jenkins (@ruby_jeanj) June 24, 2014

CENTRAL

Emergency crews responded to dozens of call outs from Boroondara and Stonnington residents during yesterday’s wild weather.

SES spokeswoman Nicole Alley said the Boroondara SES responded to 46 calls from midnight on Monday.

Crews were kept busy mostly around the Camberwell and Canterbury areas, with 15 requests for assistance from those two suburbs.

The most severe incident happened near the corner of Willow Grove and Riversdale Rd, where a home was damaged after an antenna fell into it.

Hawthorn also bore the brunt of the storm, including a tree that fell across Williams St, blocking the street and bringing down powerlines.

News_Image_File: Wild weather caused major damage to the jetty at Half Moon Bay smashing it and washing it onto the beach.

The SES received 15 call outs in Stonnington, including five in each of Malvern and Armadale.

South Yarra was also hit as a home in Albion St lost its roof, while trees came down in Argo St and Moore St. Trees also fell onto parked cars in Prahran.

Ms Alley said the SES would keep a watch on the weather for the remainder of the week, with more cold fronts expected to cross the state on the weekend.

Temperatures are expected to reach no more than 13C over the weekend, with winds upwards of 30km/h.

“When we get an event such as this, we encourage residents to check their gutters, look out for loose branches and take advantage of the lull before the next storm hits,” Ms Alley said.

SOUTHEAST SES CREWS GET THE JOB DONE

BAYSIDE

Wild weather caused major damage to the jetty and associated catwalk at Half Moon Bay in Black Rock.

Bayside Council’s director of city strategy Shiran Wickramasinghe said the damage also displaced some stone from a rock wall and damaged an adjacent footpath.

“The beach has remained open, however the lower car park at Half Moon Bay was closed overnight on Tuesday due to the amount of debris strewn throughout the car park,” he said.

“The area has since been made safe and the car park has been reopened to the public.

“Council is now in the process of assessing the damage and programming the necessary repairs.”

EAST

At the height of the storms at 11.15am yesterday United Energy, whose distribution area includes the eastern suburbs, had about 30,000 customers without power. United Energy spokesman Damien Batey said the customers included 2368 in Mulgrave, 2000 in Glen Waverley and 3000 in Ringwood.

“We were able to do the hard restoration of restoring power through linework as well as working remotely in the control room to get customers back online,” he said.

Mr Batey said about 1400 customers remained without power as the company worked through a long tail of jobs to restore power.