THE Limestone Coast was lashed with a whirlwind of wild weather which hit the region late Thursday night.
Winds of more than 102km battered the region in the second significant weather event in a matter of months.
During Thursday night and the early hours of Friday morning, the region’s State Emergency Service crews received 109 call-outs, with 79 in Mount Gambier, 22 in Millicent and the remaining five in Bordertown and Kingston.
This was comparable to the state’s 483 over the same time period, with the South East believed to be the hardest hit.
Mount Gambier Country Fire Service operations captain Bob Davis said the wild weather was one of the most significant natural events seen for a number of years.
“The last kind of event we had like this was some major flooding a few years back, but we have not seen wind like this in a very long time,” he said.
“It was definitely one of the busiest events we have ever seen, in just Mount Gambier alone we had 32 call outs.
“All eight brigades were out on the job together with MFS, SES and council workers getting things cleaned up.”
Mr Davis said although the bulk of call outs were related to downed trees, the crews saw multiple cases of structural damage and fly-away trampolines.
“These kind of events cannot be predicted, but we are always prepared for when they do occur,” he said.
“It just serves as a reminder for residents to stay safe when weather like this hits.
“Avoid driving, do not park under trees and keep yourself as ready as possible.
“Although we usually see old or dead trees coming down in storms, this was different as the wind was so powerful it was taking down trees you would not think to go down.
“So in that instance people cannot really keep on top of trees around their property, but it is always important to do everything you can to the best of your abilities.”
Almost 7500 Limestone Coast residents were also without power during the event, with customers waiting for up to 38 hours for SA Power Networks to restore electricity to their homes.
SA Power Networks spokesperson Paul Roberts said the delay was due to the severity of the storm which reflected the weather pattern travelling through the state.
“Approximately 23,000 people were without power statewide but the South east was definitely one of the hardest hit areas,” he said.
“We had additional crews brought in to tackle the damage but we did see extensive delays for some customers.
“South of Mount Gambier we saw around 2230 people without power for more than 15 hours and in Millicent approximately 1300 people were without power for 21.”
Mount Gambier City Council city infrastructure general manager Nick Serle said council also saw a significant increase in customer requests due to storm damage.
“28 requests were received on Friday with an additional 16 on Monday,” he said.
“Staff attended to call outs from 11pm on Thursday evening and into the early hours of Friday.
“The biggest task crews attended to was the clean up and removal of a large tree on Thomson Street which involved a team of four to five staff all day.
“Additional crews were called in to assist to ensure hazards were attended to and the streets restored to a safe level.
“General clean up is still ongoing and will take most of this week to complete.”
