Crane drama could last days as wild winds return
RICHMOND residents will face another night away from home as wild weather heads towards Melbourne this afternoon, delaying plans to dismantle a “compromised” crane over Bridge Rd. LATEST FORECAST
VIC News
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WILD weather will see Richmond residents spend another night away from home as high winds and a storm front delay efforts to dismantle a crane, hanging precariously above homes.
Police have evacuated a 100 sqm radius around the site, from Union St along Bridge Rd to Lennox St. Fifty to 80 residents are officially registered with authorities, but hundreds are affected.
Yarra area commander Inspector Rebecca Draper-Schultheiss said engineers, the crane company and WorkSafe are working on a plan to dismantle the crane tomorrow.
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“Hopefully they (residents) will be back in their homes tomorrow, but we’re a little bit dictated to and thwarted by the weather at the moment,” Inspector Draper-Schultheiss said.
Michael Coffey, Head of Hazardous Industries at WorkSafe, said the weather had placed the crane in a “compromised” position.
“Our inspectors and engineers have been on site, working with the crane company closely. Once they’ve developed a plan and it meets all the safety requirements, then it can proceed,” he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a road weather alert for the commute home today, warning drivers to take extra care as brief heavy rain and gusty periods are expected this afternoon.
Wet and windy and on its way! #MelbWeather ðŸŒ§ï¸ â˜‚ï¸ This cold front will hit within the next 1-2 hours, and is expected to ease this evening. Wind gusts to 90km/h with thes front, so stay safe! Check the rain's progress on the radar: https://t.co/pcxQXMLSaG pic.twitter.com/CL6VxJsjPJ
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) July 24, 2018
In Richmond, power remains shut off for 88 properties after the crane came close to toppling over in high winds yesterday night.
People living near Bridge Rd and Lennox St were woken overnight after police told them to leave over fears the crane could topple onto neighbouring properties.
Mulberry St resident Hayley Tjon-Aloi said people were taken by bus to hotels to spend the night after being given accommodation vouchers.
“We heard banging on the door and police shining flashlights in the window about midnight,” she said.
Ms Tjon-Aloi said evacuated residents were taken by bus back to Richmond Town Hall this morning for a briefing.
“Nothing is happening until maybe tomorrow,” she said.
“A lot of places are without electricity which has been turned off because of the crane.”
Her housemates Henry Harvey, 21 and Zac Vassallo also spent the night in a hotel.
“We just have to wait and see what happens,” Mr Harvey said.
They said they weren’t told when it would be safe to return to their home but they had hoped it would be later this afternoon.
However the trio said people living closer to the broken crane would be given additional accommodation.
The crane is still hanging precariously over one of the busiest streets as wild winds continue to smash parts of Victoria, bringing down almost 400 trees and damaging multiple properties.
A second large crane has been moved to the site to help make the area safe.
The Metropolitan Fire Brigade was called to Richmond after the crane arm — about 40m above the street — was bent in the wild weather.
Crane company owner Michael Clark said it appeared the Richmond crane had been left in the wrong position when the worst of the winds hit.
Richmond cafe owner Robert Stewart said he was getting groceries when he witnessed the heavy winds bend the crane.
“I heard the tower starting to buckle and when I looked, the crane was rocking back and forth,” he said.
Mr Stewart, owner of The Short Black cafe on Bridge Rd, said the wind was so strong he feared his business would be damaged.
“It was dangerous for everyone around,” he said.
Gusts in excess of 100km/h are expected to lash the state today, with the worst of the conditions expected to hit the city area midafternoon.
“It’s not going to be as bad as yesterday hopefully but there will be more winds picking up from this afternoon and showers into the evening,” Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Steven King said.
Alpine regions will be take the brunt of the conditions, with winds up to 110km/h.
A “huge” gum tree fell on a home at East Brunswick with the State Emergency Services working to clear the scene at 7.40am today.
The tree fell on the Bickford St property after leaning at an angle overnight. No one was injured, an SES spokeswoman said.
Melbourne’s outer north, east and southeast were the hardest hit during yesterday’s weather, with 974 homes in Epping affected by power outages at 10pm.
More than 450 properties in East Warburton were also impacted, along with dozens of homes in Upper Plenty, Kinglake, Garfield, Emerald, Clematis and Cardinia.
Homes on the Mornington Peninsula and the state’s west also lost power.
SES crews from Kilmore were called to Wallan at 6pm after a roof was ripped from a single-storey house.
The SES received more than 587 calls for help across Victoria in the past 24 hours.
Of those 393 were for trees down, 180 for building damage and three counts of rescuing trapped persons. There were also two counts of flooding and one road accident that required assistance.
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Earlier yesterday, a piece of a tin roof was torn off from an Apollo Bay home, with the SES called to help secure the house.
“It looks like the tin has been blown off the house and the SES was called for help about 10.38am,” a spokesman said.
Pedestrians are being urged to avoid the historic Belcher’s Corner building at the corner of Ryrie and Moorabool streets.
A severe weather warning for damaging winds was issued for Victoria’s Central, South West, North Central and parts of East Gippsland as well as North East, West and South Gippsland and Wimmera districts.
In Melbourne, gusts of 111km/h were recorded in St Kilda and 113km/h on Port Phillip Bay last night.
The strongest wind gusts recorded across #Victoria yesterday were 113km/h at Fawkner Beacon, 111km/h at St Kilda, and 106km/h at Mt William and Mt Buller. Winds will increase again later today, so make sure you check the forecasts & warnings in your area: https://t.co/VHUKqhR2as pic.twitter.com/sr4bs9tSnd
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) July 23, 2018
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds this morning for the Central, South West, North Central and parts of East Gippsland, North East, West and South Gippsland and Wimmera Forecast districts.
The bureau warns north to north-westerly winds will strengthen today as another cold front moves eastwards across the state.
“Damaging wind gusts are most likely with showers during the afternoon as the cold front moves through.
“Over Alpine areas winds are expected to gradually increase during the day to average 70 to 80km/h by later this afternoon, with peak gusts of 100 to 110km/h, before easing overnight.”
Residents of Warrnambool, Ballarat, Geelong, Melbourne, Wonthaggi, Bacchus Marsh and the Alpine resorts are warned to expect the worst of the weather.
The SES urges anyone in the warning zones to move cars under cover or away from trees, secure loose items around the house, yard and balcony and stay clear of fallen power lines.
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