A woman has died, river banks are breaking, hundreds of properties have been damaged and 100,000 residents are without power as wild weather smashes three states.
The extreme weather, which began on Sunday night, left a 63-year-old woman dead after a tree struck a cabin at a holiday park in Moama, on the NSW-Victorian border.
More than 120,000 Victorians are without power and 660 homes have been damaged following a night of strong winds, with some schools and kindergartens forced to close.
Victoria’s State Emergency Service received 2,800 calls for help between 7pm Sunday and 10am Monday, 1,350 of them related to fallen trees. Warragul, Moe and Emerald are the worst affected areas.
Premier Jacinta Allan thanked emergency crews for supporting their community in tough conditions.
‘They’ve worked overnight and are continuing to work through the day – thank you for their incredibly selfless work during this difficult time,’ she said on Monday.
The state’s emergency services have warned against unnecessary travel after winds brought down trees and powerlines across the state, reaching 146km/h at Wilsons Promontory National Park.
Gusts above 100km/h were also recorded in suburban Melbourne, including 113km/h at St Kilda.
One woman is dead and thousands of properties are without power as severe weather pummels three states. A tree through a home in Craigieburn, Victoria. Picture: Facebook
A carport in the Melbourne suburb of Melton has also been damaged by the severe weather. Picture: Facebook
Significant delays are expected across Victoria’s public transport system with debris affecting numerous train and tram lines.
A severe weather warning is still in place in parts of Victoria as residents are urged to prepare for another storm front expected to hit on Monday night.
Senior meteorologist Christie Johnson said wild weather had already hit NSW but the strongest winds were still to come.
‘The strongest winds for NSW are expected this morning with the potential for damaging wind stretching up from the Victorian border up to the Hunter district,’ Ms Johnson said on Monday.
Dozens of flights out of Sydney Airport have been cancelled with just one runway in operation as high winds batter the city.
‘Due to high winds Airservices Australia are operating our east-west runway, which may cause some delays throughout the day,’ a Sydney Airport spokeswoman said on Monday.
‘We encourage passengers to check with their airline regarding the status of their flight.’
SES crews in NSW were called to nearly 1300 incidents on Wednesday. Picture: NSW SES
Qantas has cancelled at least 25 flights departing from Sydney Airport including 10 to Melbourne, four to Canberra, and 11 to other Australian destinations.
Virgin Australia has also cancelled 13 flights from Sydney, with eight bound for Melbourne and three for Canberra.
Jetstar has cancelled three flights from Sydney to Melbourne, along with seven additional departures from Sydney.
Two Rex Airline flights from Sydney have been cancelled.
Tasmania was also battered by severe weather on Sunday with significant damage to trees, properties, power lines and infrastructure.
Peak wind gusts overnight reached 157km/h at King Island Airport and 130km/h at Launceston Airport.
The River Derwent, below Meadowbank Dam, is likely to exceed the major flood level of 7.3 metres on Monday, while emergency services are warning those in White Hills, near Launceston, to remain vigilant over the next 12 hours.
TasNetworks said there were about 10,000 customers without power, with emergency services expected to provide an update on Monday afternoon.
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