Tornado hits youth centre with kids inside

Two people have been taken to hospital and multiple homes have been damaged after a tornado hit the city of Bunbury in Western Australia’s south on Friday afternoon.

Multiple ambulances attended the Bunbury Police and Community Youth Centre, with a woman aged in her 30s taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, a St John Ambulance spokesperson said.

A Department of Justice spokeswoman said the local prison was also impacted by the weather event.

“The Bunbury Regional Prison has been impacted by a severe weather event that struck South Bunbury late this afternoon,” she said.

“An injured prisoner has been taken to hospital after a number of accommodation blocks in the minimum security section of the prison were damaged.

“Staff have secured the site and have moved minimum security prisoners to other undamaged areas of the facility.

“The site is otherwise safe and secure.”

A WA Police spokesperson confirmed the Department of Fire and Emergency Services had attended the scene at the Bunbury Police and Community Youth Centre and was waiting for debris to be cleared.

It is understood up to 50 children were inside the centre, located on Wimbledon Way in Withers.

A DFES spokesperson confirmed a tornado was reported in South Bunbury about 4pm on Friday.

Most of the damage has occurred in Withers but the tornado has also impacted College Grove and South Bunbury, where quite a few homes have been damaged.

“Several SES crews are out there responding to requests for assistance,” the spokesperson said.

“We’ve had more than 50 requests for assistance at this stage since 4pm.”

The spokesperson said firefighters were assisting people who had been trapped inside their homes from the damage.

They said there were still fallen power lines and trees in Withers, and warned people to be careful of hazards that hadn’t been cleared yet.