Wild Storms Across Victoria, Australia Cause Massive Power Outages and Destruction

A tragic turn of events has left a woman dead and tens of thousands of homes powerless following wild storms that struck parts of Victoria. Emergency crews discovered the body of the 63-year-old inside a cabin in Moama, located on the Victoria-New South Wales border, after a tree collapsed on the structure. Her husband, also 63, suffered hand injuries and was taken to Echuca Hospital for treatment. An arborist had paid the couple, originally from Inverleigh, west of Geelong, for a recent visit to the caravan park. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan expressed deep condolences to the woman’s family, emphasizing the heartbreaking nature of the incident and extending thoughts and sympathy to the emergency responders involved.

Power outages reached a staggering 180,000 on Monday morning as a fierce storm barreled eastward across Victoria. By 1 pm, around 120,000 homes were still in the dark. Wind gusts in parts of the state reached up to 146 kilometers per hour overnight, prompting the State Emergency Service (SES) to respond to over 3,000 calls for assistance since midnight. The SES reported that more than 500 calls were related to building damage, while 2,000 were for fallen trees, highlighting the storm’s destructive impact.