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- Victoria
- Weather
This was published 2 years ago
By Marta Pascual Juanola
Updated
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Parts of Melbourne have been hammered by hail and heavy rain as health authorities warned of an elevated risk to people with asthma and hay fever.
The severe thunderstorm dumped almost 40 millimetres of rain in an hour on Maribyrnong and temperatures in the city plunged from 30 degrees at 3pm to just above 19 degrees at 5pm as the front crossed the city on Wednesday afternoon.
Videos shared on social media showed hail pummelling parts of Melbourne’s inner-west, as flashes of lightning lit up the backyards of city dwellers.
One user reported seeing people standing on the roof of their car waiting to be rescued underneath a railway bridge in Footscray, while another shared a photograph of a sedan stuck in floodwaters underneath an overpass. The flooded section had been drained by 6.30pm and traffic in the western suburb was moving again.
A State Emergency Service spokeswoman confirmed crews had rescued a person from a car near Middle Footscray station on Wednesday afternoon after the vehicle became lodged underneath an overpass.
According to the EmergencyVic app, another two people had to be rescued in Docklands and two more in Seddon.
The spokeswoman said the service had received almost 240 calls for help in the six hours to 7pm for damage to buildings, flooding, and fallen trees. Most came from the suburbs of Sunbury, Essendon and Brunswick.
Electricity providers said about 3000 properties were without power at 9pm on Wednesday evening.
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A 3AW listener said hailstones the size of a 50 cent coin had pelted the windows of her home in Brimbank.
Wind gusts of over 100km/h were reported at Melbourne Airport.
The storm drove a surge in Uber prices across most of the city, with users asked to pay $75 to travel from the CBD to Brunswick, the equivalent of more than $10 per kilometre, as police diverted traffic away from Dudley Street due to significant flooding under the rail bridge in New Quay.
A lightning strike also caused major disruptions to the Sandringham line, while travellers on the Belgrave, Lilydale and Upfield lines experienced minor delays.
The Bureau of Meteorology said severe thunderstorms were detected near Camberwell, Caulfield, Footscray, Melbourne City, Preston, Ringwood, St Albans and Sunbury just before 5pm.
State Emergency Service urged people to stay indoors and away from windows, powerlines and trees.
Residents in impacted areas were also told to make sure loose outdoor items such as outdoor settings, umbrellas and trampolines were tied down and cars parked undercover.
The emergency service urged drivers to beware of hazards such as floodwater, mud, debris, damaged roads and fallen trees, and to pull away from trees if road conditions turn dangerous.
The storms are the result of a trough moving through the south of the state and come after Australia recorded its wettest November in 122 years and its coolest in 22 years.
Bureau of Meteorology senior climatologist Simon Grainger said the wet weather was the result of a range of factors, including a negative Indian Ocean Dipole and wetter tropical conditions over the continent.
“All of this has contributed to saturated soil and catchments across large parts of eastern Australia, and with a wet summer still ahead, the risk of further flooding will remain for the coming months,” he said.
“Overall, it was Australia’s coolest November since the La Nina event of 1999, and the coolest spring overall since 2016.”
The country is likely to see wet weather continue through the warmer months after a La Nina event was declared last week. Australia has experienced 18 La Ninas since 1900 and 12 have coincided with flooding in eastern states.
Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said it was unlikely that December would be as wet, with two significant climate drivers set to move away from the country. However, eastern Australia is still likely to see above-average rainfall, with wetter conditions set to ease in central and western parts.
Victorian health authorities also warned there was elevated risk to people with asthma and hay fever because of the high pollen count and unexpected storm activity.
People with the conditions were advised to go inside during the storm and avoid the winds that come before it.
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The epidemic thunderstorm asthma risk forecast on Wednesday had earlier been set at moderate for western Victoria.
Central parts of the state, including Melbourne, had been forecast to experience moderate risk on Thursday.
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