Wet and wild weather has wreaked havoc across the North-West and West Coast, with trees strewn across roads and the West Coast Community Services centre closed due to flash-flooding.
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Across King Island, residents have reported a number of trees blocking roads, with the State Emergency Service and King Island Council currently working to clear debris on the roads.
A King Island Council staff members said crews had also been out all morning trying to clear the roads and staying on top of reports from residents.
At the most recent update, they said Old Grassy Road had been cleared, with four roads currently being worked on and an additional five on the council's radar.
Residents are advised to check the the King Island Council website, where road statuses will be updated regularly.
David Munday has been living on King Island for 55 years, and works on a small farm off Pegarah Road, the major road which runs into Naracoopa.
He said in all that time, he's never seen anything quite like this.
"It is the wildest time I've seen," Mr Munday said. "I'm only a kilometre from my driveway... but it's amazing how many trees are down just here."
Mr Munday said the major issue for him was a tree blocking his path which had fallen onto a powerline.
Until HydroTas can confirm the powerline is dead, the tree has to stay. Mr Munday said HydroTas was aware of the problem and was working to fix it.
"My word, it was like a tornado this morning," he said. "Getting ready to go to work, I was looking at my phone and it just sounded like a tornado.
"I could hear trees falling while I was sitting on my deck. That's scary.
"I'm sitting in my car now near the trees and I'm dubious even about that. Luckily there are no big trees around my house."
Currie medical centre Ochre Health employee Tiffany Morrison also said it was the first time she'd seen weather this wild.
The centre has spent the morning rescheduling appointments and asking patients only requiring scripts, referrals or simple requests to change their appointments to phone or video consults.
"We've had quite a few who've had to reschedule, or have changed to phone consults, and a few have been late but we're very understanding.
"We're happy to help."
Over on the West Coast, the West Coast community services hub temporarily closed to deal with flash flooding. Flooding has also been seen at Rosebery.
Tasmania police said that, so far, the SES has responded to four callouts in the North-West region, and two on King Island.
"The King Island calls both related to Pegarah Road, which is still being cleared as multiple areas and some powerlines are down," they said.
"TasNetworks and the council are on the scene for the powerlines.
"The other calls were at Arthur River (a shed damaged in the wind) and Turners Beach (flooding)."
EARLIER
Tasmanians should be prepared for severe weather today after the weather bureau issued warnings for damaging wind and flooding.
It comes as a low pressure system, which formed over western Victoria last night, is forecast to move across the state's North-East bringing widespread rainfall and thunderstorms.
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The Bureau of Meteorology had forecast damaging winds that could reach peak gusts of 100 kilometres an hour in King Island throughout the day. The winds are expected to hit the East Coast and Central Plateau regions later today, with winds easing this evening.
Residents of Currie, Swansea, Bicheno, Orford, Hobart and Dodges Ferry are likely to be affected.
People across Tasmania have been advised to be on flood watch with up to 40mm of rain expected to fall between midday yesterday to the end of Friday.
The bureau said there was potential for heavier falls of up to 60mm with thunderstorms.
River catchments likely to be affected include North Esk, East Coastal, Ringarooma, North Coastal, Tamar, Mersey, Huon, Derwent, Coal and South East rivers.
Police have reminded people about the dangers of floodwaters after two teenagers were saved from the Elizabeth River last night.
The State Emergency Service advises that people should:
- Supervise children closely.
- Check that family and neighbours are aware of warnings.
- Manage pets and livestock.
- Secure outdoor items including furniture and play equipment.
- Be prepared in case of power outages and report any outages to TasNetworks on 132 004.
- Beware of damaged trees and power lines and take care when driving.
- For emergency assistance contact the SES on 132500.
Meg Whitfield
Journalist at the Advocate Newspaper, Burnie, proudly covering Tasmania's North-West and West Coast. Got a tip?
Journalist at the Advocate Newspaper, Burnie, proudly covering Tasmania's North-West and West Coast. Got a tip?
