Nearly 300,000 homes and businesses across Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia remain without power following devastating storms that tore through the region late last week. The fierce weather brought strong winds, torrential rain, and even golf-ball-sized hail, leaving widespread destruction and outages that authorities warn could take “days if not weeks” to fully resolve.
A Storm for the History Books
The storms, which began sweeping across southern Australia on Friday, were some of the most intense the region has seen in recent years. Wind gusts of up to 130 km/h were recorded, alongside intense rainfall and thunderstorm activity. In Victoria alone, 544,000 lightning strikes were reported within a 600km radius of Melbourne between 9am and 9pm AEDT on Friday, causing the collapse of six transmission towers and major disruption to the state’s energy grid.
Among the hardest-hit areas was Geelong, where flash flooding occurred after a staggering 50mm of rain fell within just 45 minutes. The town reported significant flooding, with homes and streets inundated by water. The storm also pummeled Melbourne, which saw 32mm of rain since Friday morning, while areas like Frankston and Springvale recorded 48mm and 45mm respectively.
In South Australia, more than 1,500 residents are still without power as of Saturday, while 800 customers remain in the dark across Victoria. Further north, power outages in NSW have impacted an additional 660 customers. The extensive damage across these regions has left emergency services scrambling to restore power and repair critical infrastructure.
Electricity Restoration: A Long Road Ahead
Victoria’s Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio has called the event “one of the largest outage events in the state’s history.” With transmission lines destroyed and infrastructure severely damaged, power companies are warning that full restoration could take weeks. Six major transmission towers between Geelong and Bacchus Marsh were knocked down by the storm, while a power station in Gippsland was also tripped, further complicating efforts to restore electricity.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has stated that “hundreds of powerlines and power poles” were damaged during the storm, with crews facing “challenging weather conditions, falling trees, and access issues” as they work to repair the grid. As of Saturday morning, over 280,000 homes and businesses across Victoria were still without power, down from an earlier peak of 530,000. However, authorities are cautioning residents that many may not see power restored for days or even weeks, depending on the severity of the damage in their area.
More Storms on the Horizon?
While the worst of the storm appears to have passed, cooler conditions and some showers are expected to linger across parts of Victoria and NSW throughout the weekend. However, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued a hazardous coastal warning for large sections of NSW, with high winds still posing a risk to coastal regions. Meanwhile, parts of Queensland’s Wide Bay, Burnett, and central highlands regions are at risk of facing severe thunderstorms later in the week.
Emergency services continue to field thousands of calls for help, particularly for downed trees and damaged buildings. While the immediate danger has subsided, the aftermath of this powerful storm system will be felt for weeks as communities begin to recover from one of the most damaging weather events of the year.
For now, authorities are urging residents to remain patient and stay safe as crews work tirelessly to restore power to the hardest-hit areas.
𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥!
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