Lightning causes $50k worth of damage to Narre Warren South home
A Narre Warren South woman and her two young children had a lucky escape when lightning struck their newly renovated home and caused $50k in damages.
South East
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A Narre Warren South woman was forced to flee her house with her two young children after a terrifying lightning strike caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to her recently renovated property.
Kate Azar and her one-year-old daughter and two-year-old son were in bed when a bolt of lightning hit their roof around 4pm on January 28 during wild storms.
“It was the loudest noise I’ve ever heard,” Ms Azar said.
“I felt the house shaking, saw the biggest flash and heard a huge bang.”
Ms Azar grabbed her kids, fled the Lake View Drive house and rushed to her neighbours.
The bolt struck a junction box, tiles and gutters, causing about $50,000 worth of damage.
“The whole house was just fully renovated around six months ago,” Ms Azar said.
“It looks like all the appliances that were plugged in aren’t working and all the electrical wiring needs to be replaced.”
Although the family have insurance, Ms Azar said the process has been “pathetic and terrible”.
She said they were still waiting for the property to be assessed.
“We are expected to be in a hotel for at least a couple of weeks,” Ms Azar said.
“So it’s just a waiting game to see how long it’ll take to repair everything.”
The SES reported that more than 2000 requests for help were made across Victoria from January 26 to 28.
Springvale recorded 35mm of rain in just 30 minutes and Greater Dandenong was one of the hardest hit areas, with the majority of the call-outs relating to building damage, flooding and fallen trees.
Shoppers at Chadstone were forced to walk through flood water and a Qantas flight landing at Melbourne Airport narrowly escaped being hit by lightning.
Drivers were also forced to abandon their cars and thousands were left without power.
