Bushfire area hit by landslides
Bushfire area hit by landslides
15 March 2009
published by www.theaustralian.news.com.au
Australia — The State Emergency Service (SES) is warning people in bushfire-affected areas to watch out for landslides, with falling debris closing two roads this weekend.
Wet weather caused landslides and road closures near Beechworth in Victoria’s northeast and Swifts Creek in Gippsland in the state’s east.
The SES also responded to more than 420 calls for assistance on Saturday.
SES spokesman Allan Briggs said 50mm of rain was forecast further south in the Strzelecki Ranges region in south Gippsland today.
“There may be landslides in fire-affected areas – with all the ash and no vegetation there is nothing to catch the water,” he said.
“You get boulders coming down, injured trees coming down.”
Storms and flash flooding hit Victoria on Saturday with a 39-year-old mother struck by lightning and killed in Bright and a six-year-old girl injured and knocked unconscious after four marquees were blown over at the international air show at Avalon.
Most jobs the SES dealt with involved trees falling down, with most other jobs involving building damage and flash flooding, Mr Briggs said.
The busiest areas were the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne, along with the suburbs of Moorabbin and Northcote.
