Microburst hits Aspendale Gardens hard

Trees and fences stood no chance against the powerful storm cell

Just after 7pm on Friday evening (12/11/2010) the residents of Aspendale Gardens felt the full force of Mother Nature as what is believed to have been a Microburst hit the area with devastating effects.

This huge tree was simply pushed over in Boudary Road, Aspendale Gardens

Chelsea SES members had been called to a couple of small jobs in the Aspendale Gardens area around 6.30pm and were almost finished as the event unfolded. Trees doubled over and the torrential rain became horizontal as the intensity of the storm increased dramatically, but as quickly as it appeared, after only 2 to 3 minutes it was gone, leaving behind a trail of damage that would see Chelsea volunteer’s working day and night through Friday and the rest of the weekend.

Tree branches were snapped like matchsticks

Some of Aspendale Gardens main thoroughfare’s including Boundary Road, Nurten Parade, Branigan Drive, Kearney Drive and Narelle Drive were the worst hit although very few streets escaped unscathed.

South Bound on Boundary Road saw these trees and fences smashed

Many roads were blocked by huge trees that had been pushed over by the ferocious winds and many houses suffered varying degrees of damage through impact by trees and other debris as well as damage to roof tiles which lead to water damage in some cases.

Kearney Drive had a number of large trees down which closed the road for almost 90 minutes

Chelsea members getting to work on clearing a large gum tree from this Kearney Drive residence

In Lance Close the wins made light work of this huge tree and the footpath was simply no resistance

In Narelle Drive trees were left tattered and torn

Considering the time that the storm hit and the ferocity of the winds and the debris that was sent flying; it was amazing that there were no injuries reported throughout the area.

At the rear of Aspendale Gardens Shopping Centre

As the calls for assistance rose through 100; other SES units were called in to assist and Chelsea would like to sincerely thank  Northcote, Brimbank, Doncaster, Nunawading, Croydon, Frankston, Waverley and St Kilda Units for the fantastic job their members did throughout Friday night and Saturday. Crews from the City of Kingston's tree contractors were also on scene very quickly and assisted greatly with clearing many of the fallen trees.

More damage in Narelle Drive

Luckily nobody had parked in this particular spot!

Kearney Drive was severely affected

Areas on the fringes of the storm including Mordialloc to the North and Patterson Lakes to the South were also affected to a lesser degree but without a doubt, Aspendale Gardens was the epicentre of the damage.

More damage in Lance Close

Outside of the Aspendale Gardens Community Service

Then remains of a fence in Narelle Drive

There were some cases of flooding, this was in Lance Close

A number of homes suffered extensive damage as a result of trees crashing into them including 2 houses next door to each other where a large tree lost a number of limbs damaging the roof and window of one house and the roof and garage of the other.

This huge branch was thrown some 20 Metres before landing on this Lance Close home

Areas on the fringes of the storm including Mordialloc to the North and Patterson Lakes to the South were also affected to a lesser degree but without a doubt, Aspendale Gardens was the epicentre of the damage.

The damage was extensive to the window and roof

Chelsea members were due to have a display and fundraiser outside the Woolworth's Supermarket in Chelsea on the Saturday morning (12/11/2010) as part of National SES Awareness Week, however, members were still answering calls for help and so the event sadly had to be cancelled which was disappointing both in a community sense as well as financially but I’m sure that every resident of Aspendale Gardens was very aware of the SES as they were super visible right across the suburb throughout the weekend! Between 6pm on Friday evening and 9pm on Sunday evening; Chelsea Unit had attended and completed in excess of 150 calls for assistance from the community.

Time for a new sign I guess Ray

Chelsea SES would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding during and following the storm. Due to the fact that so many calls for help  were received in such a short time period, and with only a limited number of volunteers, some people, unfortunately, had to wait for us to attend. However, the many signs of appreciation that were shown to  Chelsea members signalled that the community did understand any delays. A couple of examples were the endless supply of tea and coffee along with home made cakes and scones from one couple and as the Rescue Truck pulled up in  Lance Close in Aspendale Gardens, where a huge tree had completely blocked the road, spontaneous applause began from the group of residents that had been watching the action from front gardens and footpaths. The simple thank you's and well done's that our members received are the currency that keep our volunteers going!

A lonely figure in Orange outside Woolworth's just after 6.30am on Saturday morning

Chelsea volunteer member Margaret was a lonely figure standing in the rain, after being out on calls until 4am, she volunteered to wait outside of the  Woolworth's Supermarket in Chelsea just in case anyone turned up for the display that  had to be cancelled due to the huge number of calls for help that Chelsea had received. However, one female shopper voiced her disapproval at Margaret being there with a collection tin, because in her opinion,  as we were paid for what we do and were funded by the Government and Council, that should be enough, not sure if she lived in the area, or had been affected by the storms or not, but thankfully, the majority of our community appreciate the job that our SES VOLUNTEERS do, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of every year... willingly and happily!

And remember, like all of Victoria's volunteer; we really don't get paid, it's a little sad, but it seems that we still have to remind some people of this fact.