Emergency services have warned Victorians to expect more destructive winds as a powerful cold front heads towards Melbourne, while Tasmanian residents and businesses along the Derwent River prepared to evacuate on Sunday, as wild weather batters the south-east of the country.
Victoria’s emergency management commissioner, Rick Nugent, said severe weather had already damaged more than 600 homes and left 35,000 without power, and would continue into the early hours of Monday morning.
“The destructive and damaging winds are going to result in a lot more trees down, more houses without power, building damage, road closures and possibly impacts on transport networks,” he said.
The State Emergency Service (SES) warned people on the south-west and south-east coasts, north east ranges, alpine areas and parts of Melbourne to prepare to take shelter from destructive winds. The severe weather warning also instructed people in coastal areas to avoid the surf and any surf-exposed areas, including cliffs.
The chief operations officer, Tim Wiebusch, urged Victorians to secure any loose outdoor furniture and trampolines, and to avoid outdoor activities, especially swimming or rock fishing along the coastline and Port Phillip Bay.
Meanwhile, Tasmania’s SES urged communities in Meadowbank, Glenora, Bushy Park, Gretna and Macquarie Plains to prepare for flooding, with authorities suggesting they could become isolated for several days. An evacuation centre has opened in New Norfolk.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a major flood warning for the Derwent River and the Meander River, while moderate flood warnings are in place for several other rivers across the state.
Meteorologist Alex Melitsis said the worst was yet to come in terms of flooding. He said water levels would increase, with major flooding expected across the Derwent River at Meadowbank and downstream over the next 24 hours.
The Tasmania SES executive director, Mick Lowe, said locals should prepare now to go to a safer place if conditions became more dangerous.
“There is potential for properties to be inundated and roads may not be accessible.”
Michael Conway, a senior forecaster with the weather bureau in Hobart, said strong winds were also expected to continue across the north and west coasts of Tasmania, including gusts of about 100km/h.
“Tonight we’re getting a very strong cold front coming through that will bump up the winds yet again, probably not as strong as last night but quite strong,” he said.
Winds were expected to ease on Tuesday, Conway said, adding that wind gusts experienced over the weekend were likely to break records.
Severe winds and gale-force gusts buffeted the south-eastern states as Queensland sweltered in near-record heat. Victorians were also being urged to stay home amid wild winds and damaging weather.
About 30,000 Tasmanian customers were without power across the state, according to TasNetworks, after destructive winds brought down trees and power lines.
Its chief executive, Seán McGoldrick, said it could take a number of days to restore power.
The adverse weather conditions prevented the Spirit of Tasmania from sailing from Devonport to Geelong on Saturday night, with departures on Sunday rescheduled to Monday. The company said it would operate double sailings to clear any backlog.
