By Angus Delaney
Damaging winds exceeding 100km/h are forecast to hit Melbourne and authorities are warning the wild weather could damage homes across the city as trees and power lines are brought down.
Light rain fell over the city on Wednesday morning, but wind speeds were expected to ramp up by lunchtime, according to the weather bureau’s Dean Narramore.
Damaging winds are forecast across Victoria today. Credit: Paul Jeffers
A severe weather warning for damaging winds is in place across most of the state, and Narramore said suburbs bordering Port Philip Bay would be the hardest hit in Melbourne.
“Once we get into the afternoon and evening, wind gusts of 90 to 100 and even to 110km/h are possible, mostly by the coast … or in the hills up towards the Dandenong [Ranges],” he said.
Melbourne’s north-eastern suburbs are also forecast to be hit by strong winds.
“Once you start talking about winds at and above 90 to 100km/h, that’s going to bring down trees and power lines, and cause property damage, but also can blow things around, like outdoor furniture, trampolines,” Narramore said.
Victoria State Emergency Service state duty officer Grant Machell said emergency volunteers had been briefed and were ready to assist.
“The usual advice for people: beware of where you are. Look out for branches that can fall down any time,” he said.
Machell said the wind will be blowing from the west, rather than from the north as it generally does, meaning stressed tree branches were more likely to snap.
He cautioned landowners undertaking planned burns to monitor their fires when the wind changes direction.
SES volunteers have already received some call-outs for assistance, but those calls are expected to rise after 11am.
Electricity providers Powercor and CitiPower reported that 2800 customers in Melbourne’s east were suffering from unplanned outages around noon.
Powercor, which services homes in Victoria’s north and west, said extra crews were on standby to address outages.
“Extreme winds like these are rare – but when they hit, they dramatically increase the risk of trees, branches or debris damaging our network and causing localised outages,” head of network control and operations Peter Galey said in a statement.
“Make sure you are ready to enact your back-up plan if you rely on life support equipment or need electrical items to care for others and have water available if your supply relies on power.”
WorkSafe is advising construction workers to secure their tools and materials so they don’t become hazards in the strong gusts. Chief health and safety officer Sam Jenkin said cranes were at risk of tipping over during severe weather.
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