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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Harley Dennett, Hannah Neale Steve Evans

Power cuts after storm - with short respite until Christmas rain

Nearly 400 households remained without power north of Canberra on Monday morning. Essential Energy said that 395 homes still had no electricity in Murrumbateman.

In Canberra itself, emergency service crews resumed clearing up debris in the damaged sites at 7am.

According to Georgeina Whelan, the Commissioner for ACT Emergency Services Agency, 307 incidents were dealt with by Sunday evening with a dozen still outstanding.

Falling trees were the main culprit. "Do not park under trees and if it's flooding don't drive through," the Commissioner urged.

She said there would be a respite in the rain - but only until Thursday and Friday - and with rain possible on Christmas Day.

She was working on the basis of "continuous rain" until the end of January.

In Canberra itself, nearly 2200 households had their power restored, but with a further 290 still without power on Sunday after Saturday's extreme weather event.

The thunderstorm and hail sparked more than 301 calls for assistance to ACT's emergency services by Sunday evening.

The Yass Valley got the brunt of the torrential rain. "Its hit the town for six," Chris Berry, general manager of Yass Valley Council, said.

He reckoned it could take a week to clear debris from roads.

But the Bureau of Meterology promises that Monday will be calmer, with sunshine and a slight chance of rain.

Evoenergy crews continued to prioritise first response to make safe and assess the damage from last night's storm, a spokeswoman said.

"Crews are and performing repairs where larger numbers of customers and customers who have been off supply the longest are affected. We thank the Canberra community for their patience."

Current outages are still impacting 29 households in Redhill, 109 in Yarralumla, 26 in Kambah, 32 in Cook, and 94 in Weetangera, with some customers in Yarralumla and Weetangera already restored.

The ACT State Emergency Service crews have responded to more than a hundred requests for assistance since Saturday afternoon, supported by ACT Fire & Rescue and ACT Rural Fire Service firefighters. Assistance included clearing fallen trees and making emergency repairs.

The ACTSES is racing to respond to a further 80 outstanding calls.

"We're working through them pretty quickly," a spokesman for the agency said.

"We're hoping that most of them will be done by this afternoon [in] preparation for the next bout of storms to come through."

The agency is urging the community to take the time now to prepare homes for the forecast conditions, including moving cards under cover or away from trees and securing and putting away loose times around homes, yards and balconies.

"Keep at least 8 metres away from fallen power lines or objects that may be energised, such as fences. Stay indoors away from windows and keep children and pets indoors as well," the agency urged.

Rainfall in Canberra City on Saturday evening. Picture: Hannah Neale

Thousands of homes lost power on Sunday morning in the aftermath of the thunderstorm and hail.

Evoenergy have restored power to 1442 customers in parts of Aranda, Belconnen, Canberra Central, Cook, Denman, Denman Prospect, Molonglo, Molonglo Valley, Stromlo, Whitlam, and 747 customers in Parts of Curtin, Weston Creek, Yarralumla.

Hail was reported at Kingston, Pearce, Kippax, and Kambah while other suburbs were hit with brief heavy rain.

An Emergency Services Agency spokesperson said the storm had a "significant impact" on the ACT.

Several Canberrans moved their vehicles under bridges and overpasses when hail struck, keen to avoid a repeat of any hail damage as the events of January 2020 when golf-ball sized hailstones wreaked havoc across the territory.

READ ALSO:

For assistance in a storm or flood call the ACTSES on 132 500, in a life-threatening emergency call Triple Zero (000).

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