Tree falls on school, injuring three
A tree has fallen on a group of children at a Moorabbin primary school where a similar accident occurred last year.
The children, believed to between six and a nine-years-old, were playing in the schoolyard at Southmoor Primary School when without warning the enormous gum tree they were under sna
pped and slammed to the ground.
Several children managed to dodge the trunk, but three girls were injured by branches.
They have been taken to the Royal Children's Hospital suffering from bumps, bruises and scrapes.
In September last year, a massive tree branch collapsed in the playground, narrowly missing teachers, parent and pupils at drop-off time.
Tree falls on school injuring five
Meanwhile, a woman is fighting for her life after a tree fell on her car in high winds at Boronia.
An off-duty paramedic coincidentally driving by was the first to help.
The woman, believed to be in her fifties, suffered head injuries and was trapped by her legs.
Ambulance Victoria intensive care paramedic group manager Paul Howells told a Leader newspaper: "As he’s gone up to do a u-turn, he’s seen the tree on the road and noticed the headlights of the car under the tree."
The woman was trapped for around 20 minutes before being freed by SES crews.
She was placed in a coma before being flown to the Alfred Hospital.
A nearby resident woken by the crash said it sounded like a 'clap of thunder and lightning'.
"I heard a giant crack, it got me out of bed," Julie McIntyre said.
When she looked out the window, she saw a tree crushing the bonnet of the car.
"All I saw was the lady sitting in the car, and the tree on the bonnet of the car. The car was crushed in at the front."
The ABC reports that two other people escaped injury at Kilsyth when a tree fell on their car at Liverpool Road and Orchard Street.
In another incident, a tree fell onto two cars in Rowville, blocking Wentworth Avenue.
Tree branches have also damaged powerlines at Clayton and Beaumaris, causing some to spark and catch fire.
The State Emergency Service (SES) was called out to remove at least 25 trees that were knocked down by high winds and recent heavy rain.
SES spokesman Lachlan Quick says the majority of the calls have come from the area around Knox and Lilydale.
"Once the winds get up to around 80 or 90 kilometres an hour we do start to see impacts on trees," he told the ABC.
"That combined with a fair bit of wet weather earlier in the week can certainly bring trees down a bit easier than they would normally."
He says it is a good idea to park cars well away from trees in windy conditions.
The weather carnage continued in a busy laneway between Flinders and Collins Street, when strong winds lifted tiles off a ten-metre high facade, striking a 19-year-old waitress on the head.
Staff at nearby cafes and restaurants heard the commotion and went out to investigate.
Waitress Sofie Onorato told 7News: "We heard a really big crash down there when all the shale fell. We saw her lying there with people around her.
"There was a bit of blood, but they were pressing a cloth against her head.
"She was pretty shaken, mainly in shock."
The bureau says in all cases the string easterly wind gusts averaged 70km/h.
