Wild winds tearing through Wyndham on Sunday have led the local SES unit commander to repeat his call for more resources to be based at Point Cook.
Laurie Russell said SES volunteers responded to almost 80 call-outs across the municipality, with three-quarters coming from Point Cook.
“Most of the calls were for roof damage. One house in Point Cook had its roof ripped off and it was lying in a neighbour’s yard,” he said.
“A lot of trees and power lines were down.”
Mr Russell cited a need for more volunteers at Point Cook and a permanent base for them as lessons learned from the extreme weather.
It was important that residents tie down any large items that could fly in the wind, he said.
“Trampolines, dog kennels, things like that should be secured with a peg when we get winds like that to ensure they don’t turn up in a neighbour’s yard.”
A number of calls, Mr Russell said, were for trivial matters that tied up resources unnecessarily.
“Things like a branch blocking a letterbox; the postman isn’t coming on a Sunday so seek alternative ways to deal with it.”
He said the fact most calls came from Point Cook showed the need for additional resources.
“We’re always looking for new volunteers, and the way these weather events are occurring, the current crop of volunteers can’t handle this workload into the future,” he said.
“With the volume of calls from Point Cook, it’s imperative we get resources there. We had volunteers travel from Wyndham Vale … we need more.”
