The State Emergency Service received more than 1600 calls for assistance, including 14 in Maribyrnong and four in Hobsons Bay.
But apart from a few fallen trees and minor building damage, Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay were lucky to escape the worst of Melbourne’s wild weather on Thursday.
The cool change hit mid-afternoon, dropping the temperature from a balmy 19 to a chilly 8 degrees within minutes, as wind gusts peaked at up to 130 kilometres in some parts of Victoria, including Mount Hotham.
More than 30,000 homes and businesses were affected by power outages across the state, including at Laverton.
Winds whipped up waves on Hobsons Bay’s beaches and Altona’s Cherry Lake.
Footscray SES unit spokeswoman Marion Petersen said two crews worked until 11pm cleaning up considerable tree and roof damage.
“Fortunately nobody was hurt. What’s frustrating is that these were old roofs that needed to be repaired,” she said.
“There was a 12m-high factory roof in Yarraville and it has happened at that property before.”
‘‘Fallen trees blcoked Essex Street in West Footscray and Hyde Street in Footscray.”
Hobsons Bay SES controller Craig McCallum said they responded to four calls on Thursday.
“In Newport, a large gum tree dropped a branch on the roof of a house and smashed some tiles and a pergola was damaged at another house in Newport, but it was relatively quiet, which was surprising,” he said.
“We would encourage people to check their properties for loose items or anything which could become a missile in high winds and to tie them down. It’s also important to make sure your gutters are clean because they can easily become blocked during heavy rain.”
Ms Petersen warned more wild weather could create new dangers on Friday night.
– With Goya Dmytryshchak
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