A woman has died after a tree crashed onto her holiday cabin and more than 100,000 homes have lost power as wild winds batter Victoria.
Roofs have been ripped off houses and boats sunk as winds up to 130km/h lashed the state.
Hail and rain have also hit.
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The SES has responded to hundreds of calls for help as locals face a huge cleanup.
Millions of Victorians were urged to avoid travel and work from home today.
Premier Jacinta Allan described the weather as “severe” and thanked emergency services for their hard work.
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Woman killed after tree falls
A 63-year-old woman was killed on the NSW-Victorian border after a tree fell on a cabin about 3.50am.
Police discovered the woman’s body in the wreckage on Merool Road in Moama near the NSW-Victoria border.
Paramedics treated her husband, a 63-year-old man for injuries to his hand, and he was taken to Echuca Hospital.
Roof ripped off in regional area
Homeowners in Moe in Gippsland had their whole roof ripped off in the violent wind.
They lost everything inside in the horrific storm.
Power outages hit thousands
The Victorian government expected at least 120,000 homes lost power today.
However, energy companies said they hoped all would be reconnected by tonight.
“Crews are out there on the ground right now working as quickly as they can, but also only working in areas where it’s safe to do so,” Allan said this morning.
Powercor crews were called to more than 239 jobs and were working to restore electricity to 34,600 customers in western Victoria.
By late afternoon all but a few thousand were reconnected.
In Melbourne, United Energy said that more than 20,000 customers in the south-eastern suburbs and the Mornington Peninsula were cut off.
All but just under 4000 were reconnected by late afternoon.
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SES receives ‘significant’ amount of calls
The SES in Victoria had responded to more than 2800 call-outs by late morning, with the majority of those for trees downed and building damage.
The busiest areas included Warragul, Moe, Emerald and Corio.
“There are some homes that are inhabitable but we don’t know exactly how many yet, as impact assessments need to be undertaken,” Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said.
There are also about 90 intersections left without power across Melbourne, with drivers urged to be careful.
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Road, rail and school disruption
Rail services had been hit by the weather but are now reported to be running again, Public Transport Victoria said.
Coaches are replacing trains between Bairnsdale and Southern Cross due to the obstructions on tracks on the V/Line Gippsland line.
Two government schools; St Helena Secondary College in Eltham and Yarra Ranges Special Developmental School closed for the day.
Several non-government schools in the city’s south-east also closed.
Wild seas sink boat
Wild seas have also caused havoc.
The owner of Bayside Fishntrips in Melbourne watched his 82-year old ‘iconic boat’ sink.
Owner Mark said it was “heartbreaking” to see his boat under water early this morning.
He said the waves were too powerful to get on and try and save it.
Wind to ease
The Bureau of Meteorology issued an updated warning this evening.
“Damaging winds continuing through southern Victoria, expected to ease later this evening,” it said.
A Coastal Hazard Warning remains current for the Victorian coastline.
The biggest wind gust of the severe weather so far was 146 km/h at Wilsons Promontory, south-east of Melbourne at 2.29am.
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