Cyclonic winds rip roof off Poowong home

ON TUESDAY afternoon Poowong resident Tracey Thomas went outside to watch her daughter cross the road after school and noticed large storm clouds approaching the township.
They went inside and not long after the epic storm hit with gusts of wind picking up and lashing the town and rain bucketing down.
Tracey began filming the storm and, on the video, showed to The Sentinel Times, loud cracks, bangs and pops, can be heard along with wood splintering and structures breaking. 
Cyclonic like winds ripped the roof off Tracey’s home.
Winds that also saw hundreds of trees fall, buildings damaged and transmission towers crumple across the state. 
Rain then began to gush straight into the family’s living area, through a large gap left by a ripped off sun light. 
“I was absolutely terrified,” said Tracey.
Within a matter of minutes, the rain also began to soak through the ceiling and, worried it might cave in, Tracey and her children sought refuge in the car and drove to a safer spot.  
An hour later upon returning they found the yard littered with sheets of tin, wooden beams and insulation from the roof. 
Small and large pieces from the roof were also strewn in the paddocks next door and beams of wood had splintered off and impaled into the ground. 
The children’s large trampoline was in several pieces with the mat found twisted up at least 50 metres from the back yard. 
Tracey’s landlord, also a Poowong local, organised a number of community members to quickly help secure the roof – which was undergoing renovation work – with large tarps.
She is very grateful for the efforts of all the locals in assisting to keeping her family safe and dry in the absence of emergency services.  
Tracey was also thankful the wind wasn’t blowing towards the school given the storms occurred when children were walking home and parents were doing the school pickup.