Australian town cleaning up after raging tornado
Pastor Dale Morgan
Australian town cleaning up after raging tornado*
by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) Oct 28, 2007
An Australian town was cleaning up Saturday after a raging tornado tore
roofs off homes and destroyed a power station, emergency services said.
The twister hit the town of Dunoon in northern New South Wales Friday,
part of a storm front that also brought hail and torrential rain.
NSW State Emergency Services worker Scott Hankel said the tornado
smashed into a power station, effectively cutting Dunoon in half as live
power lines straddled the main street.
He said about 20 homes needed roof repairs, with some houses beyond saving.
"The aim is to get these people some protection as quickly as possible,
some of these houses are write offs though," Hankel told Channel Nine
television.
Footage showed some of the local church's walls had collapsed under the
tornado's onslaught and classrooms in the local school were destroyed.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Andrew Haigh said while tornadoes were
rare in Australia, there was a possibility of more in coming months.
"It's always possible in the severe storm season, occasionally the
factors line up like they did yesterday," he told Channel Nine.
Earlier this month, hail the size of tennis balls lashed the nearby city
of Lismore.