Storms uproot trees, damage houses and cause commuter chaos on multiple train lines

A Melbourne university campus and a primary school have had to cancel classes after damaging winds, rain, hail and lightning strikes left a trail of destruction.

Emergency crews were kept busy on Tuesday as wild weather battered the state.

Storm damage has led to classes being cancelled at a school and a university while train commuters faced peak hour chaos in the afternoon with at least nine lines impacted by closures.

Metro train lines that were affected included the Belgrave, Craigieburn, Cranbourne, Frankston, Glen Waverley and Pakenham lines.

V/Line services were disrupted on the Gippsland, Seymour and Shepparton lines.

A tree uprooted on East Boundary Rd, Bentleigh East.

A fallen tree landed on a car at Stud Park, Rowville.

The storms wreaked havoc across the state. Picture: 9 News

Classes cancelled

Monash University’s Clayton campus was shut down due to storm damage.

The university urged students to stay away from the campus while the clean-up was underway.

“Clean up has commenced and necessary measures are being taken to manage the impact of the storm,” a Monash University spokesperson said on Tuesday night.

Summer classes scheduled on Wednesday have been cancelled unless they can be conducted online.

Preparations for the upcoming O-Week have also been suspended.

“We strongly urge students who are supporting these activities not to attend campus and to await further information,” a letter to students read.

Students at St Patrick’s Primary School in Murrumbeena were also urged to stay home on Wednesday after wild storms ravaged the school.

The storm caused significant damage including broken roof tiling, internal leaks, shattered windows and damage to the playground.

“We are asking all families to keep students home tomorrow due to the multiple safety risks which need to be managed in multiple areas around the school,” a letter to parents read.

“We will aim to make all areas of the school safe tomorrow for students to return on Thursday.”

Classroom struck by lightning

Students at St Peter’s Primary School in Bentleigh East had a lucky escape when lightning hit their classroom just after students had left for school pick-up time.

The lightning strike caused several roof tiles to come crashing to the ground just metres from where students were waiting for their parents.

Micheal Owens said his wife and children had to shelter in the library with other families after the strike.

“It was a bit of chaos, with students running to get away from the tiles and into shelter,” he said.

“Luckily all the students were okay and accounted for after things settled down.”

After a few minute parents were able to collect their kids and return them home safely.

It comes as a wild storm slammed a Brighton School.

Brighton Grammar students were shocked to discover water pouring from the ceiling as the storm lashed classrooms.

Meanwhile, the storms caused injuries, with a person hurt after a tree fell through the car roof and speared a driver in the leg.

Paramedics are on the Narre Warren East scene assessing the person with lower body injuries.

Melbourne roads are also copping the lash of extreme weather with multiple roads shut due to storm damage.

To give you a perspective of how powerful the #melbweather#melbourneweather storm was - this tree was uprooted in Clayton. Video courtesy of dp_swag on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/6vv0DqJAmZ

— JAKE FLAGPIES23 🏆🖤🤍 (@IncrediblyBozza) February 13, 2024

The Western Port Highway near North Rd in Cranbourne has been closed due to fallen power lines with motorists asked to consider taking Robinsons Rd as an alternative.

Cheltenham Rd in Dandenong has been closed under the rail overpass due to flooding and people urged to take the Dandenong Bypass.

In regional Victoria, Maroondah Highway has been closed between Taggerty and Buxton due to multiple trees and debris on the road.

TRAIN DELAYS

~ The Belgrave line between Ringwood and Belgrave

~ The Craigieburn line has reopened with major delays

~ The Cranbourne/Pakenham line between Caulfield and Westall

~ The Frankston line has reopened but is facing major delays

~ The Glen Waverley line between Darling and Glen Waverley

~ The Lilydale line has reopened but there are major delays

~ The Alamein line has reopened but there are major delays

~ The Sunbury line between Footscray and Watergardens

Commuters stuck at Flinders Street Station after train network issues. Picture: Brendan Beckett

As at 6.15pm on Tuesday some train lines had resumed but passengers were warned of major delays.

A Department of Transport and Planning spokesman said motorists should be vigilant for extra pedestrians and buses around train stations.

There were major delays on multiple train lines across Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

“Our signals team is monitoring conditions in the area and will adjust traffic lights to assist with bus movements,” he said.

“We ask passengers to check station platform displays, listen for announcements, and allow extra time for their journey.”

The Herald Sun understands the extreme storm also left Malvern Station without power with authorities escorting people off trains in places like Armadale.

Widespread outages

Power outages are being reported across multiple suburbs including Sunshine, Werribee South, Camberwell, Wantirna, Geelong, Portland and Dandenong.

As of 4pm AEDT, wholesaler United had 110,000 customers offline, Citipower 108,000, Ausnet 105,000 and Jemena 63,000.

500,000 properties in Victoria out of power, due to this #melbweather#melbourneweatherhttps://t.co/3SpoerZfHe

— Mike (@bikeymikey70) February 13, 2024

A CitiPower spokesperson said the outages are a result of extreme temperatures, strong winds and thousands of lightning strikes across the state.

Residents are bracing for the power to be off until at least 9.30pm.

Multiple sets of street lights are also without power around the state.

Motorists along the Burwood Highway have reported traffic light outages along a significant portion of the road.