A two-year-old boy was killed when a tree fell on his family’s house in the Dandenong Ranges during a wild thunderstorm that also hit Melbourne on Saturday night.
The tragedy occurred when a tree collapsed on the two-storey house on View Road in The Patch at about 9pm.
Emergency services worked to free four adults and two children trapped in the house.
Police found the toddler’s body after conducting a search of the house when he was unaccounted for.
A five-year-old girl was taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital suffering serious injuries. A 13-year-old was uninjured.
Across the city, tens of thousands were left without power and emergency services were flooded with calls as a “very dangerous” thunderstorm hit.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning for most of metropolitan Melbourne just after 8.30pm on Saturday night, warning people to brace for destructive winds, hail and lightning strikes.
Winds gusting at up to 130 kilometres an hour swept across the city, bringing down trees and powerlines, smashing windows and taking roofs off houses.
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A woman in her 50s suffered a broken leg when a tree fell on her in Anderson Street in South Yarra and had to be taken to the Alfred Hospital.
The State Emergency Service was inundated with 1282 calls for emergency assistance between 8pm and 2am, an SES spokeswoman said.
Almost 900 calls came from the greater Melbourne area, most reporting fallen trees. Crews carried out 16 rescues and there were also 191 reports of building damage.
Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman said MFB firefighters were responding to dozens of storm-related incidents.
The State Control Centre has been activated to respond to the storm damage.
Several flights bound for Melbourne had to be diverted due to the wild weather.
Melbourne Airport closed its tarmac intermittently to avoid lightning strikes, spokeswoman Anna Gillett said.
An outdoor concert featuring Conor Oberst at Melbourne Zoo was cancelled as the storm hit.
There were also unconfirmed reports of powerlines being brought down and starting fires, people trapped in lifts and a blown-out window hanging precariously above the street in a 10-storey apartment building in St Kilda.
Widespread power outages have been reported across Melbourne and much of the state.
Thousands of households in Northcote, Camberwell, Surrey Hills, Albert Park, Bayswater, Beaumaris, Lilydale, Croydon, Yarraville, Seddon and Sunbury were without power.
Across Victoria, blackouts were also reported from Maryborough in the north to Philip Island.
AusNet Services spokeswoman Sarah Ward said almost 20,000 customers were affected by blackouts. Just under 6000 customers in Dandenongs and Gippsland remained without power just before 10am.
“At this stage, we’re sending crews out to assess the damage and doing all we can to get power reconnected.”
Powercor and CitiPower have both reported blackouts affected more than 17,000 households.
Power suppliers AusNet Services, Powercor, CitiPower and United were all working to restore power overnight.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Phil King said winds in excess of 128 kilometres per hour had been reported from the western suburbs to St Kilda, prompting the bureau to issue its highest weather warning.
While rainfall was not high, Mr King said “this is all about wind”.
The fast-moving storm front cleared within an hour, but thunderstorms and rain continued overnight, bringing a cool change, he said.
As Melbourne cleaned up on Sunday, temperatures were expected to be cooler, with a top of 20.
This story first appeared in The Age
For help
If you need assistance, call the State Emergency Service hotline on 132 500.
