Wild winds lash Victoria, again

A severe weather warning has been cancelled for central Victoria but emergency crews spent another Sunday cleaning up trees and reconnecting power.

A worker clears a fallen tree in East Melbourne

A week after winds saw 130,000 Victorian homes without power, fresh gusts cause further blackouts. (AAP)

Emergency crews have spent a second Sunday in a row cleaning up after fallen trees and reconnecting after widespread blackouts.

A severe weather warning for Victoria was cancelled on Sunday after trees and power lines were brought down by wild winds overnight.

Damaging winds continued in parts of East Gippsland, North East and West and South Gippsland throughout the day, with wind gusts of 130km/h recorded at Mt Hotham and 93km/h at Melbourne Airport.

Thousands of homes were without power on Sunday morning, mostly in eastern suburbs.

However, only 243 properties were without power by 5.30pm.

The SES received more than 235 calls for assistance on Saturday, as winds up to 89km/h felled trees and damaged buildings and another 161 calls for help were received on Sunday - mainly in Melbourne's southeast following reports of fallen trees and powerlines.

The damage paled in comparison to the destruction caused by deadly winds that lashed Victoria on October 9.

Those destructive winds cut electricity to more than 100,000 homes, leaving many customers without power for days, and a woman died when a tree fell on to her house.

Disaster assistance has now been activated for 48 councils across Victoria affected by floods and storms.

Emergency relief payments, available through the jointly-funded Commonwealth-State Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangement, of up to $520 per adult and $260 per child are available to help meet immediate needs, including emergency food, shelter, clothing and personal items.

Flood-affected residents can also access up to $32,500 per household for clean-up, emergency accommodation, repairs, rebuilding and replacing damaged contents.


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Source: AAP



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