Violent storm hits Bourke

NSW Fire and Rescue members Daniel Duckworth and Chris Morrall clearing fallen power lines on Monday night. Photo TWH

Bourke was lashed by a freak storm on Monday night, bringing down power lines and trees, lifting roofs off houses, and scattering debris all over town.

On Monday, the storm cell hit Bourke after 7.20 pm, bringing a huge downpour, hail and damaging winds.

The town was without power until after 10 pm as Essential Energy crews, SES, council workers, NSW Fire & Rescue teams and RFS units moved in to restore power and clear roads of fallen trees and other debris.

On Tuesday morning, residents of Bourke were busy removing fallen branches, cutting up fallen trees, retrieving bins and other belongings that had blown away and assessing the damage to roofs and other infrastructure.

The summer storm arrived unannounced with wind gusts of up to 69 kilometres per hour, as recorded by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) at the Bourke airport.

Reports of damage came from all around Bourke, with Bourke Shire Council General Manager Leonie Bourke saying she expected the winds were probably stronger in town. […]

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