WET and windy weather kept the Mount Gambier State Emergency Service (SES) busy over the last 48 hours after they were called to a number of trees down and reports of property damage.
When the severe weather warning was issued early on Monday afternoon, it did not take long for the volunteer group to be called into action.
At around 4pm, SES crews were called to Helen Street after reports of a sign blowing over outside the Mid City Motel.
However, SES Mount Gambier unit manager Simon Poel said his volunteers never actually reached the job as a number of trees started to fall across the city.
“We had a few trees down yesterday afternoon, so we never actually made that job and it was handled by an independent company,” Mr Poel said.
Helen Street was closed between Bay Road and Gray Street for a short period while people in Hazmat suits cleared the scene.
“Wind obviously blew some of the sign and I think it is fluorescent tubes on the road and nearby buildings,” Mr Poel said.
Mr Poel said three trees fell between 4pm and 5pm during a spate of gusty winds.
“We had a tree leaning against a house on North Terrace, a tree down on Davison Road and a tree covering Carpenter Rocks Road near Compton,” Mr Poel said.
“We were also called to some large sheets of iron, which were blown off the roof of a property at Eight Mile Creek.”
With gusts of wind reaching a top of 89kph, Mr Poel said the weather had the volunteer group on high alert.
“It probably was not as bad as last week, but there were some pretty gusty winds,” he said.
The emergency service group remained on high alert yesterday as 19mm of rain fell across Mount Gambier between 12pm and 3pm.
The Mount Gambier unit was called to flooding incidents at properties on Elimo Street and Reginald Street.
Mr Poel said they would continue to monitor city hotspots with more rain expected this week.
“We will continue to keep an eye on things, it’s great that we no longer have any issues with the highway,” he said.
“That used to flood terribly and give us a lot of trouble, but the council has done a mountain of work to fix those problems.”
