General News
29 October, 2025
Trees down as winds lash the region
COBDEN’S State Emergency Services (SES) unit was very busy last Wednesday during the strong wind event which hit the state.
The unit received 13 callouts over the course of the day, many of which related to downed trees on the road.
The unit was among the busiest in the south west as volunteers were called to 98 requests for assistance (RFAs), including 85 for trees down and 9 for building damage.
VICSES Hamilton Unit (16 RFAs) was the busiest local unit while Cobden and Warrnambool had 13 each.
Port Campbell had five requests for assistance, while Terang (six) and Camperdown (four) were also busy.
In the southwest, VICSES volunteers were called to almost 70 RFAs between midday and 5.30pm.
Cobden SES deputy controller Sue Sartori said the number of calls were reduced thanks to the efforts of local farmers and council staff assisting with clearing trees.
“We were out for about four hours,” she said.
“We were on and off – there were calls in the morning and bits and pieces throughout the day.
“We had two crews out – there were eight people on the road, and we were lucky some of those blokes were shift workers who happened to have the day off.
“The farmers were fantastic – they saved us a hell of a lot of work just coming out and bringing their tractors out.
“Many thanks to the farmers, and even to people who were driving by who had a chainsaw in the back and pulled a branch off the road.”
Ms Sartori said the unit was pleased to see no callouts for roofs blown off of buildings.
“We had a branch down in town, and I believe Camperdown had some trees down as well,” she said.
“It was mostly trees on the road, meaning the buses and tankers were unable to get through.
“Our front roller door blew in, so we actually had a job at the local unit at around 4.30pm.
“The wind was so strong it blew it off its rails and the door was flapping.
“We had to leave a crew behind to secure the unit.”
Timboon’s Railway View Hotel also saw damage from the storm, with a tree falling onto the roof during the strong winds.
Pub licensee Karen Flett said she is concerned about what might happen next, since the pub also experienced flooding during a heavy rainfall event in September.
“The tree fell on the motel rooms,” she said.
“We lost the spout and some of the iron on the roof.
“The motel rooms are fine – no-one got injured.
“I don’t know if we’re going to go through insurance or not – depends on how much out excess is.
“What else is going to happen – it usually comes in threes.”
Ms Sartori said residents should try to avoid driving in conditions such as last Wednesday’s storm event, warning trees can fall at any time and cause accidents.
“As we were going out, we had tree branches hitting the truck,” she said.
“They can fall down at any time right in front of you, or you could go around a corner and there could be one just sitting there.
“If you hit one – especially a large tree – they don’t move and can do a lot of damage.
“It’s not the weather to be out driving if you don’t need to be.”
She also advised residents to heed warnings in the lead-up to the event, taking preventative measures such as tying up outdoor furniture and clearing debris from their yards.
“We had warnings two days before we had a teleconference where all the units of Victoria were online,” she said.
“The public also had warnings coming out – they knew the weather was coming.”
Ms Sartori extended her gratitude to her fellow SES members, many of whom left work early to assist the community.
“One of our new members came out when he finished work – the more members we’ve got, the more we have to do things like this,” she said.
“It just saves us being out all night and it also saves vehicles and being held up with trees on the road.
“Membership is a big thing for us.”
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