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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2021
GIPPSLAND
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FOR SALE WEATHER
TuesdayCloudy Mostly-sunny Min:16 4 Max: 14 Tuesday Min: 7-Max:
WednesdayPartly Possible shower 3 20 Max: 15 Wednesday cloudy - Min:- 6Min: Max:
Thursday ThursdayMostly Showersunny or two- -Min: Min:37Max: Max:1424
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Flooding, gusty winds Sarah Luke
Now swabbing at Sion Central Gippsland Health has relocated its COVID testing site from the Gippsland Regional Sports Complex to the former Sion Catholic College Sale campus. Opening yesterday morning, entry is via Raymond St, and exit via Raglan St. CGH anticipates the drive-through site will be at the Sion site until the end of January. At this stage, it is open from Monday to Friday, from 9am until 11am, but operating hours will be adjusted depending on demand. Photos: Josh Farrell
WILD weather has again lashed Wellington Shire for the third time this year. In a true Victorian spring, residents experienced heavy downpours, hail, damaging wind gusts, freezing blasts of air, flooding and occasional sunshine, across the weekend — sometimes within the space of an hour. From Friday to Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology reported East Sale recorded 60.4mm of rainfall, with wind gusts peaking at 70kmh about 7pm on Sunday night — not quite the ferocity of the windstorm in October, but enough to prompt a severe weather warning for damaging winds from the bureau. Other parts of Wellington Shire were also quite wet, with Briagolong recording 75.6mm — more than its monthly average — on Friday alone. Meerlieu recorded 79.8mm across the weekend and Stratford 78.4mm, while in the shire’s south, Balook recorded 110.4mm, Giffard 40.4mm and Yarram 41.4mm. When the Gippsland Times went to print yesterday morning, minor flood warnings were still in place for the Gippsland Lakes, and the Avon, Thomson, Macalister and Latrobe rivers. A gale wind warning was in place for the Gippsland Lakes and central Gippsland coast. Friday’s unusual wind direction — southeasterly gusts — combined with the waterlogged ground to bring down trees and cause minor property damage locally. AusNet assigned additional staff in the control and call centres, as well as putting additional field, vegetation and aerial crews on standby ready to respond to power outages, but the widespread blackout seen locally across Melbourne Cup weekend was fortunately not repeated. Stratford SES Unit reported flash flooding, with the storm catching some people off guard in the area at the weekend. One vehicle was damaged when it was hit by a Continued page 5
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November 26 - 28
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