Two dead as severe weather brings down trees and powerlines in Tasmania

"Heavy gusts were expected to continue into the afternoon and rainfall over the next two days was likely to cause river level rises, according to Chris Irvine, an acting assistant director at the state's emergency service. Although the worst winds have now mostly passed, we are still expecting widespread gusts of 100km/h to 110km/h across the state this afternoon before easing below warning thresholds this evening, Irvine said."

"The SES said it had faced 72 requests for assistances on Friday, mostly due to wind-related damage. Ambulances were diverted from the Mersey Community Hospital in Tasmania's north-west after it sustained weather damage, with non-emergency patients encouraged to seek alternative services. The hospital's clinical services were being managed but at reduced capacity, the state health department said in a statement. More than 20,000 homes were without power in Tasmania on Friday morning, the majority in the north and northwest,"

Severe winds and heavy rain battered south‑east Australia, causing deaths, damage and outages. Two people died after a tree fell on a private property in north‑west Tasmania at about 12:10pm. Tasmania faced flood watches and statewide weather warnings, with continued severe winds into Saturday morning and further rainfall forecast. Widespread gusts of 100–110 km/h were expected across the state before easing below warning thresholds in the evening. Damaging gusts were expected in parts of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. The SES handled 72 assistance requests, mostly wind‑related. Mersey Community Hospital sustained damage, ambulances were diverted, and more than 20,000 homes were without power.

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