Tasmania’s wild weather not over yet, authorities warn of rare and dangerous winds
The worst weather is yet to come for Tasmania with authorities warning “rare and dangerous” winds are expected. Latest on the wild weather.
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Update: The worst weather is yet to come for Tasmania with authorities warning “rare and dangerous” winds are expected to develop Saturday afternoon and evening.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Alex Melitsis said Tasmania would see impacts and damage from wind tonight that it doesn’t normally experience.
“Most of Tasmania will see gusts in excess of 110 kilometres per hour,” he said.
Mr Melitsis said the winds tonight, particularly in the North, North West and West are going to be “quite dangerous”.
He said Tasmania was used to strong winds at this time of year but these “destructive” winds- in excess of 125 kilometres per hour- were a rare event.
As wild weather continued to lash the state, gusts partially brought down a large tree outside Hobart City Council chambers.
Pedestrians are urged to use the other footpath while it is being removed.
A tree also blocked Risdon Road earlier today but has been cleared.
Earlier: More than 14,300 Tasmanian households are without power – and for some the outages may last until next Tuesday – as TasNetworks crews and contractors work frantically to repair faults.
The New Norfolk caravan park was evacuated overnight as a precaution due to rising floodwaters.
And the junior soccer tournament, the Hobart Cup, which attracted thousands of players from across the state, has been cancelled.
TasNetworks has 64 outages listed on its website with the North-West the hardest hit but outages also reported in the North to Dover in the south.
The SES responded to 66 calls for help overnight across the state.
TasNetworks spokeswoman Danielle Duffin said it was one of the worst and disruptive weather events to affect customers she had seen in the past seven years.
“Crews and contractors are working hard to restore power but just when there is a lull in the weather there is another weather warning,” she said.
“They are also facing problems with access because of flooded roads and trees fallen across roads.
“Crews expect to reduce the number of customers affected today but some people could be without power until next Monday or Tuesday.”
TasNetwork workers have lifted their industrial action to work on restoring power.
Customers affected by outages are asked to monitor the website for up to date information and to sign up to get text messages about outages in their area.
The most customers affected by outages include 1744 at Heybridge, Upper Natone and Sulphur Creek in the North West.
Meanwhile, in the past 24 hours to 9am on Saturday morning, State Emergency Service crews responded to 66 requests for help, with 12 in the South, 27 in the North, and 27 in the North West.
The Bureau of Meteorology expects conditions to improve for a period from mid-morning on Saturday before another very strong front impacts the state on Saturday night.
“With the changing weather conditions, it’s important that people remain vigilant and up-to-date with the warnings and flood alerts listed on Tas ALERT,” the SES said.
“Our dedicated volunteer crews remain ready and available to support the community. If you need assistance from our SES volunteer crews please call 132 500.
“If you’re driving in an area impacted by rains or floodwaters, the message is clear, never drive through or enter floodwaters
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