The residents of Mirboo north, in south Gippsland are picking up the pieces after Tuesday’s severe storms. The small town bore the brunt of the fierce weather and is grieving the loss of one of its own. And the continuing lack of power and phone reception isn’t making the recovery efforts any easier.
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00:00 Hundreds of trees brutally flattened, some onto homes.
00:07 It was really, really frightening, the rain and the wind.
00:12 This community is so resilient, but they have absolutely been smashed.
00:16 Locals say the storm that tore down trees like this must have been a tornado.
00:21 They're calling for more support from authorities as the town recovers.
00:25 The community feels like people are unaware of how bad things are here.
00:30 So I'm certainly calling on the current state government to implement as much help as they can to this region.
00:36 Don't forget us.
00:38 The power is still out, leaving the main street eerily quiet, save for the sound of chainsaws and tractors.
00:46 As efforts to clear roads and repair homes continue.
00:52 The high school remains closed, one of 13 across the state shut today due to the extreme weather events.
00:59 Look, I don't think we'll be safe to run the buses until at least Monday.
01:04 And then of course we've got to worry about the sewage in the town.
01:07 The water is safe to drink, but authorities say supply is still limited.
01:13 Ongoing mobile phone outages left some residents unable to make a triple zero call.
01:19 For others, it meant they didn't hear about the death of a local 50-year-old farmer until late in the evening.
01:26 I didn't know that anyone had died because we stupidly don't have a battery-operated radio.
01:34 Telstra says it's working hard to restore service in Merbou North.
01:39 50,000 Victorians remain without power, most of them in the state's east, including towns such as Trafalgar and Yarragan.
01:47 AusNet says most should be back online by Saturday.
01:51 We are looking at how we can get in and provide support for those communities that are going to be affected for longer.
01:58 How much longer remains unknown.
02:01 own.
02:01 [BLANK_AUDIO]