Wild wind rips across Gippsland

IT has been a particularly busy time for members of the State Emergency Service (SES) in Gippsland and South Gippsland Shire crews who have been involved in the clean up since the wild weather of last Thursday.

The Shire of South Gippsland attended callouts for over 130 roads in the Shire, including the South Gippsland Highway, which were affected by trees falling partially across them or blocking traffic.

Shire crews worked until 10pm on Thursday to clear the debris, and no further calls were received after that time, however more fallen trees were found on Friday.

Seven roads were reported to the Shire Council as having water on them, but only Armstrongs Road, Meeniyan was closed due to flooding.

Bald Hills Road, Tarwin Lower; was closed temporarily overnight on Thursday because of two wash outs. These were fixed the following morning.

Many townships in the area were without electricity for periods of between a few minutes to many hours, including parts of Meeniyan which was with power from around 1pm Thursday until it was restored at 3am Friday morning.

The Foster SES unit was kept very busy with a number of trees down in the area over driveways and on roads, as well as damage to a shed and water tank. The whole Gippsland region was affected by the fierce weather, with SES units across the region receiving a total of almost 600 requests for assistance between Thursday and Monday. It was a busy period for the SES, with 21 of the 24 units Gippsland units active over that period of time.

As The Mirror goes to print, further weather warnings are being issued and the SES urges drivers to take care not to park under trees – whether it be for just a minute or two or a few hours. Tree limbs can drop at any time, especially in windy weather.

Campers are reminded to position their tents and vehicles in areas free from risk of falling trees and limbs.

The SES also advises that people should secure or put away loose items in the yard and on verandas and balconies to avoid them becoming flying missiles.

For emergency help in floods and storms, call your local SES Unit on 132 500.

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