A woman in her 60s was taken to
hospital with minor injuries after being hit by a collapsing wall in Yarraville yesterday morning.
Strong winds knocked over the wall
on Williamstown Road about 11am, forcing emergency crews to clear the area.
Crews pushing the wall off the footpath with a bulldozer struck a waterpipe, but the erupting water spray was quickly controlled.
Footscray’s State Emergency Service unit established an emergency command centre to deal with local damage caused by the high winds. More than 25 calls were received across Maribyrnong and Melbourne’s CBD, with building damage the main reason for callouts.
Footscray SES spokeswoman Marion Petersen said extensions being built at a Maribyrnong house were knocked down, while a chimney was also at risk of collapse. She said many more calls were expected as people returned home to discover property damage.
Altona SES received 20 calls after strong winds downed trees and caused building damage.
Unit controller Craig MacCallum said the worst damage involved the roof of a Spotswood factory lifting. Calls, mainly for trees blocking roads, were also received from Altona North, Newport, South Kingsville and Williamstown.
Benjamin Millar and
Goya Dmytryshchak
