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CARNAGE AND CHAOS 120km/h winds rip through the Valley By TOM HAYES
WIND gusts topping well over 100 kilometres an hour have played havoc for Latrobe Valley residents. The sheer ferocity of a storm which began more than seven days ago has led to widespread power outages, as emergency crews work overtime to clear fallen trees, branches and debris. The first of the two severe weather events occurred overnight from Tuesday, August 27 to Wednesday, August 28, as winds swept past the Latrobe Valley and surrounding regions. The second instance was again overnight from Sunday, September 1 to Monday, September 2, which saw Watch and Act warnings across the state, as wind speeds were anticipated up to 130km/h. During the first event at the end of August,
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in Gippsland 112 call-outs were made to the SES between 2pm on August 27 and 9.30am on August 28, with most regarding fallen trees. Morwell had 22 call-outs and Moe had 17. Ninety-seven callouts concerned fallen trees, while eight were for building damage in the region. Trees remain to be cleaned up in the Latrobe Valley, as people woke to discover more blocked roads. Tyers Road, between Tyers and Traralgon, was blocked momentarily while SES crews cleared the area. More trees were spotted to have fallen in Hazelwood North, Yallourn North, Moe, Newborough, Morwell, Boolarra, and Toongabbie. Many people in the region still remain without power due to the extent of the wind-caused
outages. Power outages were seen in Traralgon and Morwell, where traffic lights went out of operation or were continually flashing. This was seen on the Princes Highway near Latrobe Regional Health and Princes Drive near Mid Valley. The Great Moscow Circus, which had stopped in Traralgon at the time, across the road from the Traralgon Racecourse, had to pull down its major tent, with fears that the strong winds could have caused it to be unsafe. Less than a week later, the second severe weather event had swept through the region. Overnight from September 1 to 2, winds of up to 130km/h were expected in parts of the state. Latrobe Valley, despite not being in any of the Watch and Act zones, still copped some of the force that swept the state. Between 7pm on Sunday, September 1 and
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12pm on Monday, September 2, VICSES volunteers were paged to almost 700 requests for assistance (RFA) in Gippsland, with Latrobe Valley among the region’s busiest. The figures in Gippsland revealed more than 441 call-outs for fallen trees, and around 230 for building damage. Morwell had 185 RFAs, and Moe 96. At a VicEmergency press conference on the morning of September 2, Bureau of Meteorology Senior Meteorologist, Kevin Parkyn stated that the Latrobe Valley suffered a 124km/h gust of wind - the region’s most powerful gust throughout the event, recorded at the Warragul Weather Station. Continued - Page 3