Wild winds wreak havoc

By Jade Lawton
WILD winds caused havoc across the region again last week, with trees falling on houses in the hills and new infrastructure in fire-ravaged Labertouche blown to pieces.
An Emerald family were lucky to escape serious injury when a tree crashed through the roof of their home last Thursday.
A man and woman in their fifties and their daughter, in her twenties, were at home at when the tree hit their Monbulk-Emerald Road house at 10.30pm.
Senior Sergeant Trevor Teer, of Pakenham Police, said nobody was injured but the house was deemed uninhabitable and emergency accommodation was arranged for the family.
Pakenham SES spokesman Shayne Honey said SES volunteers were prepared for the strong winds after advice from the Bureau of Meteorology.
“We were able to plan accordingly and our volunteers spoke to their employers to arrange time off work when required. This planning ensured when we were called to assist residents we had the manpower to meet the shire’s needs,” he said.
Calls for assistance started coming in at 4.30am Tuesday morning, but the winds really picked up at 5pm and the volunteer unit has 25 calls for help in just 80 minutes.
“Most requests were for building damage to resident’s homes, while there were various reports of trees over local roads,” Mr Honey said.
In Labertouche, trees that survived Black Saturday six months ago were knocked over by the ferocious winds.
Rotary Club of Pakenham President Tim Ahern, who is co-ordinating the Labertouche drop-in centre, said the winds also ruined newly constructed infrastructure.
“One organic farm lost all their plastic covered glasshouses (in the fires) they had just been put up again and then the wind ripped them to pieces,” he said.
Some trees that survived the fire were also knocked down by the wind.
Mr Honey said local business owners had assisted the SES in their efforts by allowing volunteers time off.
“The Pakenham SES would like to thank local business owners who allowed their staff to have time off. Without their support, we wouldn’t be able to support the community as we do,” he said.