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Melbourne smashed by storm as bushfires hit southern Victoria

Melburnians have been forced to hunker down while giant hailstones smashed into the city as a series of fierce storms swept through.

Ben Graham and wires
4 min read
January 20, 2020 - 7:23AM
Melbourne smashed by 'giant hail'

Residents across Melbourne were forced to hunker down as a “very dangerous” storm headed over the city.

Many have been taking to social media to describe “golf ball sized hail” falling across suburbs with such ferocity that it is “shredding trees”.

An emergency warning was issued for Ringwood, Scoresby, Vermont, Glen Waverley, Greensborough and Kew shortly before 4pm this afternoon, advising residents they were “in danger” and to “immediately move indoors to stay safe.”

The Bureau of Meteorology said “severe and dangerous storms” moved through Melbourne’s eastern and southeastern suburbs, with giant hail, damaging winds, and heavy rainfall. While conditions have now eased, more supercell storms are possible.

Hawthorn resident Krystian Seibert said the hail was so big this afternoon that it “shredded trees” on his street.

“The hail sounded like a pinball machine with golf ball sized hailstones falling,” he told the Herald Sun.

“I’ve lived in Melbourne for a long time and I’ve never seen or experienced something like this.”

One video uploaded onto social media shows a Woolworths store in Templestowe in the city’s northeast with its ceiling caved in and customers being forced to evacuate.

Between 12pm and 6pm about 884 calls for SES assistance were made with 628 for building damage, 106 for reports of flooding and 130 calls for trees down with 61 trees causing traffic.

It comes as a blaze on French Island, that has consumed consuming 76 hectares in Victoria’s south, is still out of control – but firefighters have halted the spread.

Fire trucks had to be carried across to French Island on barges, which could only hold two vehicles at a time.

Firefighters had to painstakingly wait at the mainland dock, watching on as the island burned.

A Kernot-Grantville CFA tanker on board a barge heading to the bushfire at French Island. Image: CFA
A Kernot-Grantville CFA tanker on board a barge heading to the bushfire at French Island. Image: CFA

“Fire trucks were assembling at the ferry egress point, literally waiting for the ferry to come back,” SCC state response controller Alistair Drayton told news.com.au.

“It’s a 15 minute journey there and 15 minutes back, so thirty minutes all up. So unfortunately we couldn’t get the trucks over there any faster.”

“Access to French Island is tricky. There are no direct roads,” Mr Drayton added.

“It was all a matter of getting support vehicles getting over there as quickly a possible.”

A four kilometre perimeter is currently burning on French Island at Western Port in southern Victoria, but firefighters expect to have the blaze under control by the end of the day.

“We’re hoping to have that contained during some time today,” a spokesman from Victoria’s Country Fire Authority (CFA) told news.com.au.

“The spread of the fire has been halted. Crews are working to build control lines around the fire.

“Storms are also expected to come this afternoon and evening in Victoria’s central and eastern areas. So French Island is expected to be affected.”

An emergency warning – the highest alert level – had been issued yesterday afternoon for the fire at the island’s Ridge Track, before being downgraded to advice level about six hours later. The bushfire remains at an advice warning level.

French Island had a population of 119 at the time of the 2016 Census, but it’s also a popular tourist destination. The island is also a koala hot spot. The island’s koalas are sometimes used to repopulate other areas because of their chlamydia-free status

Six fire trucks remain on the island, working on containment lines.

A bushfire burns out of control on French Island. Still grabs from Channel 7 News.
A bushfire burns out of control on French Island. Still grabs from Channel 7 News.

Authorities earlier downgraded emergency warnings in Victoria’s alpine region despite difficult fire conditions overnight.

Storms are expected to develop in Victoria on Sunday afternoon, particularly in the central and eastern regions, as a low pressure trough moves across from NSW. They will bring rain, high moisture levels and thunder to some fire areas, particularly the alpine region.

But there’s a downside.

“Dry lightning is also expected. Those conditions are not very good for firefighters,” the CFA spokesman added.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Michael Efron said that is good news in one sense for fire-ravaged landscapes, but may be troublesome in another. “Rainfall run-off can actually contain a lot of debris and that could get washed into waterways and across roads as well, so at the same time increasing the risk of landslides.”

“There’s good and bad associated with this activity.” Rainfall totals of about 5mm to 10mm are expected, but some areas could have totals of up to 50mm.

“It does look like that rain could be intense, in some parts of the state at least,” Mr Efron said.

In East Gippsland, a trio of AFL players ran a free football clinic on Saturday to give local children something to smile about.

Port Adelaide players Robbie Gray and Travis Boak flew to Victoria for the clinic in Paynesville on Saturday, where they were also flanked by the Western Bulldogs’ Marcus Bontempelli.

The Victorian firefighting effort has also received more international support. Incident management specialists from the US and Canada arriving at Melbourne Airport on Saturday ahead of being deployed to fires in the northeast and East Gippsland.

Also arriving from the US was the first of four large air tankers, which are set to be positioned strategically around the country over the next 50 days. A contingent of 54 personnel from the Fiji Military Force arrived in Melbourne on Saturday evening to start induction training before being deployed to East Gippsland, where a group from the Papua New Guinea Defence Force is already at work.

So far the blazes have burnt through more than 1.5 million hectares, 387 residential homes and 602 non-residential buildings.

Five men have also died during the fires.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/fire-burning-on-victorias-french-island/news-story/57e70566c823f2dff218b6c31d0217cd