Tasmanian emergency services were urging residents and businesses along the Derwent River to prepare to evacuate on Sunday, while Victorians have been warned of destructive winds as wild weather batters the south-east of the country.
The Tasmanian state emergency service 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.
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The Bureau of Meteorology issued a major flood warning for the Derwent River and moderate flood warnings for several other rivers across the state. The SES executive director, Mick Lowe, said locals should prepare now to go to a safer place if conditions become more dangerous.
“There is potential for properties to be inundated and roads may not be accessible,” he said.
Michael Conway, a senior forecaster with the bureau in Hobart, said the severe weather wasn’t over yet. Strong winds were 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.
Emergency services had already responded to 330 incidents in the 24 hours to 8am on Sunday.
About 30,000 customers were without power across the state according to TasNetworks after destructive winds brought down trees and power lines.
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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.
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.
The Victorian SES warned people on the south-west coast to prepare to take shelter from destructive winds. The severe weather warning also instructs people in the area to avoid the surf and any surf-exposed areas, including cliffs.
“The severe weather may include destructive winds from Sunday evening averaging 55-65km per hour and gusts of up to 100-130km per hour possible at coastal locations from the South Australian border to the Bellarine peninsula,” an SES spokesperson said.