UPDATE, 10.15AM: Ballarat’s SES crews responded to 30 calls for assistance after wild weather ripped across the city on Tuesday.
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Calls began late morning as wind speeds picked up to peak at more than 100kmh when the main cold front swept through Ballarat.
SES deputy controller Craig Ellis said four Ballarat SES crews were out of the station for most of the afternoon and evening dealing with trees down over roads and on private property and some cases of building damage.
“Most were just standard jobs for us … but it was the busiest day for some time,” Mr Ellis said.
They also rescued a cat that had become trapped between a fence and water tank in Lake Gardens.
The SES responded to 800 calls for assistance across Victoria with the Mornington Peninsula among the worst hit areas.
“With this type of weather, make sure you don’t park under a tree and secure loose things like trampolines,” Mr Elliott said.
UPDATE, 3PM: A severe thunderstorm warning has just been issued for Ballarat.
Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging winds in the warning area over the next several hours.
Ballarat has already been hit by 100km/h gusts this afternoon, as the cold front sweeps across the state.
Locations which may be affected include Kyneton, Ballarat, Geelong, Melbourne, Wonthaggi and Bacchus Marsh.
The State Emergency Service advises that people should:
- * Move vehicles under cover or away from trees.
- * Secure or put away loose items around your house, yard and balcony.
- * Keep clear of fallen power lines.
- * Stay indoors if possible.
- * Avoid using the phone during the storm.
- * If you are outside, avoid sheltering under trees
- * Listen to the radio for storm updates
- * Switch off your computer and electrical appliances
This video was sent to The Courier from Delacombe, where reader Caity Holden said cars were swerving to miss flying blocks of polystyrene building foam.
"It's a bit crazy," she said. "The foam was flying everywhere, there were cars that were swerving trying to miss it.
"There's a lot of building going up here behind our house and it's literally gone everywhere."
There are already power outages throughout western Victoria, including Clunes (1020 customers), Creswick (178) and Skipton (28).
There are also numerous reports of trees down throughout the Ballarat as 100km/h winds lashed the city around 2.30pm.
There have been reports of trees down in the CBD, Wendouree, Soldiers Hill, Ballarat East, Brown Hill, Golden Point, Sebastopol and Nerrina so far.
EARLIER, 2PM: SES crews are being kept Tuesday as high winds have knocked down trees and powerlines and damaged houses across the region.
With winds gusting up to 72km/h by 2pm, Sebastopol has bore the brunt around the Ballarat region with more than 100 residents left without electricity due to power lines coming down in Albert Street.
Just one street away in Walker Street, a large tree came down on a nature strip forcing crews to block traffic to the area.
The wet and windy change is crossing through Ballarat at 2pm.
At this stage, the SES had received 15 calls outs including 10 hazards such as trees or power lines on the ground and five for building damage. Damage was spread as far as Bacchus Marsh.
The Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Richard Carlyon said wind gusts were as high as 102km/h in Horsham but were set to moderate overnight.
He said another front was expected to pass through the state on Wednesday, while not as strong wind wise, did have the potential to cause more rain than Tuesday.