Wild weather: More than 130,000 homes without power, child hit by tree
A child has been hit by a tree and more than 130,000 homes have been left without power after a massive cold front brings damaging gusts across Victoria.
Ambulance Victoria responded to a call that a five-year-old child had been hit by a tree about 6pm in Blackburn South, in Melbourne's east. Paramedics remained on the scene at 7pm.
The wild weather brought a tree down on the corner of Spencer and Hawke streets in Melbourne's north.
Power company AusNet, which services the east of the state, recorded more than 83,000 outages at 6.30pm.
Meanwhile United Energy, which provides electricity to Melbourne's inner south-east and the Mornington Peninsula had more than 40,000 properties without power.
West of Melbourne, Powercor and Citi Power have more than 14,000 customers affected.
The strongest gust in the state was 156km/h clocked at Hogan Island, followed by 144km/h at Wilsons Promontory, 124km/h at Mount Gellibrand and 122km/h at Yanakie.
Closer to the city Port Philip Bay clocked 115km/h per hour, while St Kilda Harbour recorded 111km/h winds.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Tim Bolden said Melbourne CBD had seen the worst of the gusts by 6.30pm, but that the "very vigorous cold front" was moving east.
"This front is continuing east, what Melbourne has just seen will move through to parts of the Alps, Gippsland and the Gippsland coast," he said.
The State Emergency Service responded to 279 calls for assistance between 5.15 and 6.15pm alone - with 226 of those calls relating to trees down, a spokesman said.
"The main areas are for Hastings, Bellarine and Torquay," he said.
Up to 60 sets of traffic lights are out across Melbourne due to the storm, according to the Victorian Department of Transport.
A spokesperson said the Burwood Highway, Maroondah Highway, and Canterbury, Springvale, Stud,
Blackburn, Warrandyte, and High Street roads in the city's east are without traffic lights.
Sam, a caller to ABC Radio Melbourne, said a tree had taken down powerlines just past Knox shopping centre blocking lanes on Stud Road.
More to come