Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes strike Melbourne
UPDATE: IT’S been a wild and woolly Melbourne afternoon. but most areas survived severe thunderstorms that threatened tornadoes and destructive winds.
South East
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UPDATE: IT’S been a wild and woolly Melbourne afternoon. but most areas survived severe thunderstorms that threatened tornadoes and destructive winds.
Spectacular looking grey clouds rolled in off Port Phillip Bay toward Frankston and Bayside areas.
The bureau picked up “very dangerous” thunderstorms on weather radar near Bulla about 1.50pm and issued the warning for people in the Port Phillip, inner east, inner, south east, western and parts of the Mornington Peninsula, northern, outer east and Geelong and Bellarine Peninsula.
The thunderstorms hit the races at Crown Oaks day and moved south, with the Cranbourne and Berwick areas hard hit.
Leader reader Craig Moore said the rains caused havoc at Eden Rise Shopping Centre in Berwick.
“Most shops are pushing water out and the chemist copped it pretty bad,” he said.
“Their doors were shut to stop people walking in and they’ve got a heap of water in there being sucked up by those stand on vacuums.
“A few other shops had leaks and the bottle shop was shut for a while as well.”
Managing Partner at Eden Rise Pharmacy Pete Tzimos said the pharmacy was severely flooded during the storm when it blew over Berwick at 3.15pm.
He said the shop was expected to be closed for a couple of hours because of the hazard to customers, who were instead re-directed to their pharmacy on High St.
“50 per cent of the shop was flooded,” he said.
“10 to 15 tiles came down, about one third of the shop has still got about a couple of centimetres of water.
“There is substantial damage
“We have been flooded five times since we opened five years ago; we went through a spate where we were flooded two or three times in one year.
“I have no idea (why) we have been told it’s a big roof area, we have been told it’s built to specifications and this is only expected to happen once every 100 years but we have gone through five centuries (of floods) here.”
The bureau warns severe thunderstorms could still hit Cranbourne, Beaconsfield and Berwickand are expected to travel south toward Koo Wee Rup, Lang Lang, northern Western Port waters, French Island and the area north of Bass.
Destructive winds, heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding, large hailstones and tornadoes were reported.
The State Emergency Service advises that people should:
■ Keep clear of fallen power lines.
■ Secure any loose objects in the vicinity of your home.
■ Keep away from creeks and drains.
■ Do not drive vehicles through flooded areas.
■ Stay indoors if possible.
■ Avoid using the phone during the storm.
■ If you are outside, avoid sheltering under trees
■ Listen to the radio for storm updates
■ Switch off your computer and electrical appliances
*Visit bom.gov.au or phone 1300 659 217 for more information.
