By Steph McNicol
Thunder and lightning woke most residents across the region in the early hours of May 20, with a noisy storm also leaving backyards blanketed in hail.
Victoria State Emergency Service North East duty officer Dan Walton said the SES received six calls overnight in the region, four of them to Kilmore.
“There were only four calls made in Kilmore which would be mostly building damage, like missing tiles or roof damage. No houses are inhabitable,” Mr Walton said.
Kilmore resident Amy Turnbull was one of those four callers, after her roof began leaking and water started entering her home through windows and walls.
“We’ve never had anything like that actually. We’ve had hail, lightning and thunder, but nothing like that,” Ms Turnbull said.
“The rain just came down really hard on the windows and we thought they were going to smash. Me and my daughter woke up and walked around the house looking at everything outside.
“We looked up at the roof and the water just started slowly coming in. It also started coming through the sliding doors and through the walls. Our alfresco area outside flooded, even though it’s sheltered.”
Ms Turnbull said the water damage occurred due to a blockage caused by the heavy hail in the gutters.
“There were people in our estate that made the other calls to the SES. We’ve lived in this house for 11 years and never seen something like that,” she said.
The Bureau of Meteorology reported most areas in Mitchell, Macedon and Whittlesea received between 10 to 24mm of rain last week.
