By REBECCA BILLS
THE hills have been lashed with debris and damage after a week of wild winds left a trail of destruction in its path.
Over four days the Lilydale State Emergency Service received 104 requests for assistance from the public with wind gusts of 110 kilometres per hour recoded in Kalorama.
Deputy Controller Operations at the Lilydale SES Shaun Caulfield said many trees were uprooted by the winds and there was even a report of an air conditioning unit blown off a roof.
“Once we had been able to get on top of those local events, we were also able to provide a crew to assist in busier areas in Melbourne,” he said.
“The SES received over 4000 calls in this time.”
In a statement from the Victorian SES it said particularly the eastern suburbs bore the brunt of the winds and this was the second time in two weeks winds have swept across Victoria.
Emerald SES spokesperson Yvonne Leeman said for two days last week Emerald CFA put two crews out to aid in the call outs and said she was grateful for people’s understanding and patience over the week.
“We had approximately 200 calls over the week,” she said.
“There have been lots of trees on the road and 12 buildings with varying degrees of damage,” she said.
“We were really stretched to our limits for a little while over the week and really grateful for the help of the Emerald CFA.”
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, north-westerly winds of 15 to 20kph will be increasing to 40 to 50kph this Wednesday with more gusty winds forecasted in days to follow.
Ms Leeman said in this kind of weather after such strong winds the most important thing is common sense.
“Don’t park your car under trees and clean up your backyard and secure all objects,” she said.
“Trampolines make great flying Frisbees when they get going and sheets of iron become like flying knifes – so make sure these objects are properly anchored.”
A common instance in this kind of windy weather is fallen trees on power lines which can be extremely dangerous.
Ms Leeman said people should stay a minimum of six meters away of they see one and to call the power company to ensure the area is made safe.
Anyone who needs storm assistance can call the SES on 132 500.
