Healesville Sanctuary shuts, tree crushes cars in Bayswater, boom gate arm snaps in Reservoir as wild winds batter Melbourne

UPDATE: WILD weather has caused havoc in the Dandenong Ranges, with power being cut to almost all of the hills. Rolling weather coverage here.

A large gum tree cushed cars at Station St, Bayswater, opposite the railway station. Photo: Janine Eastgate

UPDATE 4.50pm: WILD weather has caused havoc in the Dandenong Ranges, with power being cut to almost all of the hills.

The SES has confirmed wild winds have knocked over more than 70 trees as of 4.30pm, causing damage to powerlines, roofs and homes.

Six trees have fallen in Kallista, eight in Olinda, eight in Sassafras, seven in Monbulk, and eight in Upwey.

SES spokesman Stefan Delatovic said emergency services were attending a number of incidents involving trees damaging homes.

Mr Delatovic said a tree had fallen through a roof on Olinda-Monbulk Rd in Olinda, while a wattle tree had fallen on a two-storey house in Colehurst Cres in Sassafras.

He said a tree had also fallen on a property in Tecoma.

The SES is yet to confirm the severity of these incidents.

Power company SP-Ausnet stated power was out in Belgrave, Belgrave South, Ferny Creek, Kallista, Kalorama, Macclesfield, Menzies Creek, Monbulk, Olinda, Selby, The Patch and Silvan.

Cars have been crushed by a falling tree and Healesville Sanctuary has shut as wild winds whip up across Melbourne. Keep up-to-date with weather-related incidents across Melbourne with our rolling coverage.

Part of Reservoir level crossing shut as boom gate snaps

A SECTION of the notorious Reservoir level crossing has been blocked off after one of the boom gate arms was damaged in the wild weather.

The southbound left turning lane on High St has been closed after a large section of one of the boom gate arms was damaged, Metro spokeswoman Pauline O’Connor said

“A maintenance crew is on site working to fix the problem,” she said.

“The crossing is still operational and trains are operating as normal. There is no disruption to services on the South Morang line.”

Motorists are advised to find an alternative route.

Chelsea cops a battering

CHELSEA SES are warning people to batten down the hatches with wild weather hitting the suburb.

SES spokesman Phil Wall said their crew had been to about four or five jobs today. Most were for trees that had blown over, but they were expecting more as people returned home to find damage to their properties.

“At the moment the boys went straight to a tree down in a backyard in Parkdale. They’re on their way to a tree down in Thames Promenade in Chelsea and also they are going to Arnold Dr in Chelsea, where the property fence has blown over,” he said.

Crews had also taken down a sign that was about to be blown off a locksmith on Nepean Hwy in Bonbeach.

“We could get a run of jobs about 5.30/6 tonight when people get home from work,” he said.

Tree crushes cars near Bayswater railway station

A MASSIVE gum tree has fallen crushing cars parked near a Bayswater supermarket, as wild winds lash Melbourne.

Bayswater mother-of-four Riannon Wiley said five cars were underneath the huge gum tree, which fell opposite the railway station.

She said no one was inside flattened cars, but one owner was in tears, as emergency services worked to remove the branches.

“Luckily no one was walking past, the tree roots have been completely pulled out ... it’s just a ball,” Ms Wyley said.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Knox SES deputy controller administration Leanne Gibson said crews were called to High St, Bayswater, at 10.20am and were cutting up the tree.

MORE: COMMUTER OR SHOPPER YET TO RETURN TO CRUSHED CAR, OWNERS OF ONE CAR UNINSURED

A large gum tree cushed cars at Station St, Bayswater, opposite the railway station. Photo: Janine Eastgate

The tree’s root system sits exposed in the carpark. Photo: Janine Eastgate

Power outages hit eastern suburbs homes

Power has also been lost at 390 homes in Mitcham, Nunawading and Vermont, according to the United Energy website. Power is also out at 76 homes in Oakleigh and Oakleigh South and 88 homes in Rowville.

Healesville Sanctuary shuts as branches fall

HEALESVILLE Sanctuary has closed because of today’s dangerous high winds.

Steve Kayll, general manager of operations, said the decision made for safety reasons, after trees at the sanctuary began dropping small branches.

All staff are wearing hard hats and are only doing essential works.

“The gusts are very strong... it is a real swirl, so that’s actually dangerous for us when it’s swirling... it tends to push the trees in all directions which means the limbs come down,” Mr Kayll said.

But he said if the winds abate, they will re-open.

“We don’t (close) lightly, we understand people travel long distances to come and visit us, but once I start seeing stuff coming out of the trees, I’ve just got to put human safety first,” Mr Kayll said.

Werribee Zoo closes paths, cancels talks

HIGH winds have forced the Werribee Zoo to close some pathways and cancel the serval presentation and gorilla talk for visitor and animal safety.

Melbourne Zoo staff keep eye on trees, but running as normal

AT Melbourne Zoo groundskeepers are keeping an eye out for any trees that may need pruning back in the winds but all exhibits are running as usual.

Cranbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens closes

CRANBOURNE’S Royal Botanic Gardens has battened down its hatches in the brunt of today’s blustery conditions.

The gardens closed its doors for the day about noon and spokeswoman Katie O’Brien said it’s “better to be safe than sorry”.

“We’ve closed the bushland and the Australian gardens because the wind is just horrible,” Ms O’Brien said.

“The staff will stay on site, indoors, but the general public will not be allowed into the gardens for their own safety.

“No damage has been caused by today’s conditions at this stage but the staff will wait till it calms down before they go and check.”

Dozen calls for help in Nillumbik and Banyule

SES spokeswoman Kathryn Gould said Diamond Valley residents had so far made 12 calls for help.

Ms Gould said the wind had brought down four trees in Eltham and three in Greensborough since 12am, but there were no road blockages.

She said one call was made for minor building damage in Bundoora.