Wild weather leaves thousands without power

By Shelby Brooks

Thousands of households across Cardinia Shire have woken up without power Friday 29 October.

Over 3412 households in Pakenham, 3382 in Officer, 1377 in Beaconsfield, 445 in Emerald and 1037 in Gembrook are currently without power.

At this stage it’s unclear when it will be restored.

Damaging southwesterly winds averaging 60 to 70 km/h with peak gusts of around 100 km/h have reached Greater Melbourne after sunrise, it’s expected they move onto Gippsland coasts in the middle of the day.

Winds may possibly reach up to 110km/h about the Bass Coast and Mornington Peninsula during Friday morning.

As of 6.20am, VicSES had received 700 calls for help in the last 24 hours.