Sydney, August 26: Thousands of people in the Australian state of Victoria are without electricity after destructive storms.
According to energy company AusNet Services, there were 24 unplanned power outages by Monday morning, affecting 2,800 homes and businesses in northern and eastern Victoria after severe weather swept across the state on Sunday evening, according to the Xinhua news agency.
The State Emergency Service (SES) reported that 471 emergency calls were received in the 24 hours to Monday morning as strong winds caused extensive damage.
Of the calls for assistance to the SES, 261 related to fallen trees, 130 to building damage and 39 to flooding and property damage.
A severe weather warning was issued for Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, on Sunday evening, warning of destructive winds, large hailstones and heavy rain.
When the storm reached the city at 6:15 p.m. local time, wind speeds of over 100 km/h were recorded at Melbourne Airport, and gusts of almost 150 km/h were recorded elsewhere in the state.
“It’s a very dynamic and dangerous situation,” SES state service officer Andrew Feagan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Sunday.
“There is large hail, three to five centimetres of hail, which is very, very dangerous and can, under certain circumstances, cause life-threatening injuries.”
Melbourne is forecast to have highs of 18 degrees Celsius on Monday and 20 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, with strong winds sweeping across the city.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor.
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