After severe weather knocked down transmission lines and forced a major power plant to disconnect from the grid, tens of thousands of residents in Victoria, Australia were left without power. AGL’s Loy Yang A power station, responsible for about a third of the state’s power, had to shut down on Tuesday afternoon, impacting half a million properties. Officials described this as one of the largest outages in Victoria’s history.
As of Wednesday morning, more than 280,000 homes or businesses were still without power, and at least 10 schools and dozens of childcare centres were closed. Additionally, mobile phone and telecommunication lines were also down in some areas.
In Melbourne, Federal Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil reported widespread damage in some suburbs, with houses being completely smashed by trees and cars destroyed. She shared this information in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter.
During the storm, five firefighters received minor burns after becoming trapped while trying to douse bushfires ignited by lightning strikes near the Grampians National Park in Victoria’s west. Jason Heffernan, chief officer at Victoria state’s fire department, described the conditions as a “close call” due to the intense heat, wind, and fire intensity.
Some properties were completely destroyed by fire, but the exact number is yet to be confirmed until fire crews finish their rescue efforts. Firefighters are currently working to contain three bushfires, and Heffernan mentioned that better weather conditions could help crews to contain the fires quickly.
Australia’s weather bureau predicted milder conditions on Wednesday with temperatures in the low to mid-20 degree Celsius (68°F) and moderate winds, but cautioned that the risk was not over yet.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
