SYDNEY - Storms packing powerful winds toppled trees, killed one person and knocked out power to 174,000 homes and businesses in eastern Australia, officials said on Feb 14.

The wild weather hit large swathes of Victoria on Feb 13, dumping torrents of rain and unleashing gusts of more than 150kmh, the state government and emergency services said.

A 50-year-old man was killed in the storm, dying on the scene after being struck by debris while working on his property in Darlimurla, south-east of Melbourne, Victoria police said in a statement.

At its peak, 530,000 homes and businesses lost power, the Australian Energy Market Operator said in an update.

“Given the extent of the widespread damage, it may take days, if not weeks, to restore electricity to all of those impacted,” the authority said.

The winds tore off roofs, uprooted trees and flattened electricity pylons, according to media reports and images shared on social media.

Fallen transmission towers led to the shutdown of Victoria’s largest electricity generator, the coal-powered Loy Yang A, which was being reconnected to the grid, the state’s energy authority said in a statement.

“This has been one of the largest outage events in the state’s history,” Victoria Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said.

“We’ve got houses in our street which have just been completely smashed by trees. There are cars that have been destroyed,” Federal Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Train services on some Melbourne routes were suspended, and at least 10 schools and dozens of childcare centres were closed.

Australia’s biggest telecommunications company, Telstra, said storms had affected its services in some regions.

Bush fires

In the state’s west, firefighters battling to contain three bush fires sparked by lightning on Feb 13 were hoping a change in the weather could help contain the blazes quickly. It was too early to say how many homes were destroyed, state firefighters said, though a report in Melbourne’s The Age newspaper said about 20 had been lost.

Five firefighters received minor burns after becoming trapped while trying to douse bush fires ignited by lightning strikes during the storm near the Grampians National Park in Victoria’s west, said Mr Jason Heffernan, chief officer at Victoria state’s fire department.

“Certainly a close call for the crew that got entrapped. Such were the conditions yesterday, the heat, the wind and the fire intensity,” Mr Heffernan told ABC television.

Australia’s weather bureau forecast milder conditions on Feb 14 with temperatures in the low to mid-20 deg C and moderate winds, but warned the risk was not over yet. REUTERS, AFP