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March 22nd, 2013 
Peter Nolan
Posted
Victoria’s State Emergency Service is sending extra crews to help clean up after tornadoes damaged dozens of homes in the state’s north-east.
The tornadoes brought winds of between 250 and 300 kph to the area from Cobram to Rutherglen on Thursday night, injuring 20 people and damaging more than 60 buildings.
SES incident controller Mark Cattell says six extra crews have been sent to help clean up in the worst-affected towns like Bundalong and Koonoomoo.
He says damaged powerlines and trees are still posing a risk and some caravan park residents are concerned about damaged gas cylinders.
“There may still be wires down or power down in some areas. Even though wires may be on the ground, they may still be live,” he said.
“There may be properties where they’ve had … some kind of surge which may be [causing] some issues within the home.
“Trees, as we’ve seen, [are also] fairly unstable at the moment.”
About 12 homes were rendered uninhabitable and dozens of people spent last night in emergency accommodation.
Mr Cattell says the damage bill may rise as holiday home-owners inspect their properties over the weekend.
“Those people from Melbourne or other areas of the state may come up and check their holiday properties out and find there’s more damage and report that then,” he said.
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At least 19 people were injured when two tornadoes cut a path of destruction across Victoria’s north-east last night. A severe storm moved across an area stretching from Cobram to Rutherglen just after 7.00pm (AEDT), ripping roofs from houses and uprooting trees. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
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Tornado damage at Bundalong, Victoria on March 22, 2013. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
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At Mulwala, the Dennison County Caravan Park was badly damaged after a tornado went through the area on March 21, 2013, with roofs torn off and trees scattered amongst vans and cabins. (User submitted: David Jones)
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A tornado touches down at Barooga, New South Wales on March 21, 2013. At least 20 people were injured and buildings were damaged. (Audience submitted)
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Large parts of the Dennison County Caravan Park at Mulwala in NSW were damaged by the tornado that struck the area on March 21, 2013. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
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Trees slashed to the ground along a major highway at Bundalong, Victoria on March 22, 2013 after a tornado hit the area. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
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An emergency worker is almost hidden among the pile of fallen trees near Bundalong, Victoria on March 22, 2013, after a tornado tore through the area. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
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A pile of tin and debris is all that left after a tornado tore through the area around Bundalong, Victoria on March 21, 2013. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
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Bricks scattered around a building damaged by a tornado at Rutherglen, Victoria on March 22, 2013. (ABC TV News)
Topics:
storm-disaster,
disasters-and-accidents,
bundalong-3730,
rutherglen-3685,
cobram-3644,
yarrawonga-2850,
vic,
australia
Source Article from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-23/extra-ses-crews-sent-to-help-tornado-clean-up/4590044
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