Snow alert warning amid wild weather clean-up

Tasmanian residents have been warned to stay on alert as melting snow could flow into  overrun rivers, while tens of thousands of Victorians are still without power.

A clean-up has started across three states ravaged by wild weather and the federal government is flagging it expects requests to help repair damage.

The blasts hit first on Sunday night and continued through Monday across NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, leaving one woman dead and thousands of homes still without power on Tuesday.

An aerial view of flooding in Bushy Park, Tasmania.
An aerial view of flooding in hop-growing paddocks in Bushy Park, Tasmania.

Tasmania was among the hardest hit with two evacuation centres opened for displaced residents as the River Derwent came close to spilling its banks.

Warnings have been downgraded, but residents need to be alert as a flood threat still exists and more bad weather is predicted later in the week.

"We've seen the worst of the weather conditions pass now and conditions change considerably across Tasmania,"  Simon Louis from the Bureau of Meteorology said.

"There are no further severe weather warnings currently. We do still have flood warnings for several catchments." 

Snow that's fallen in the state is also expected to melt over the next few days which will fill up catchments, Mr Louis said.

Areas along the River Derwent were evacuated due to rising flood waters.

Parts of the town of New Norfolk was evacuated with about 70 houses believed to have been flooded.

Federal Emergency Management Minister Jenny McAllister told Radio National her office expected to get requests for help from the three states.

"For some of these communities, thoughts will turn today and in the coming days to the recovery and we'd expect to start hearing from our counterparts about any measures or assistance they might require from us at that time," she said. 

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said teams would assess damage caused by the storms and work with local government to support residents.

"But also, we will ask our federal government if it comes to that threshold around disaster relief," he told ABC TV on Tuesday.

The Victorian government said it was working with the federal government to make funding under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements available if required.

Authorities lashed the recklessness of 13 walkers, including two teenagers and a child, who were rescued from dangerous conditions on kunanyi/Mt Wellington in Hobart.

The group contacted police for assistance on Monday afternoon after getting into trouble before temperatures on the snow-capped summit dropped to -3C on Monday night.

In Victoria, more than 28,000 residents were still without power on Tuesday after gale-force winds downed powerlines across towns such as Newborough, Drouin, Cockatoo and Warragul east of Melbourne.

Snow on kunanyi/Mt Wellington
A group of 13 bushwalkers were rescued from a snow-capped kunanyi/Mt Wellington in Hobart.

About 450 personnel were working to restore power, with a focus on fixing damage caused at Morwell Terminal Station.

More than 660 homes were damaged on Monday, including a home destroyed in the Dandenong Ranges and another in Corio.

Beach boxes across Mornington, 60km south of the CBD, were tipped over and damaged after they were dislodged from their bases by strong winds.

A crew of 29 SES volunteers from NSW landed in Melbourne on Tuesday morning to help with the clean-up.

In NSW, a 63-year-old woman died on Monday during the storm when a tree crashed onto a cabin at a holiday park at Moama on the NSW-Victoria border.

A woman in her 50s also suffered multiple injuries after being hit by a falling tree in Sydney's west.

Two sailors were rescued in waters off the Nowra coast after raising the alarm on Monday night.

The strong winds, with gusts up to 85km/h, played havoc at the country's largest airport with 90 flights to and from Sydney Airport cancelled, with only one of its three runways open at the height of the storm.

License this article

What is AAPNews?

For the first time, Australian Associated Press is delivering news straight to the consumer.

No ads. No spin. News straight-up.

Not only do you get to enjoy high-quality news delivered straight to your desktop or device, you do so in the knowledge you are supporting media diversity in Australia.

AAP Is Australia’s only independent newswire service, free from political and commercial influence, producing fact-based public interest journalism across a range of topics including politics, courts, sport, finance and entertainment.

What is AAPNews?
The Morning Wire

Wake up to AAPNews’ morning news bulletin delivered straight to your inbox or mobile device, bringing you up to speed with all that has happened overnight at home and abroad, as well as setting you up what the day has in store.

AAPNews Morning Wire
AAPNews Breaking News
Breaking News

Be the first to know when major breaking news happens.


Notifications will be sent to your device whenever a big story breaks, ensuring you are never in the dark when the talking points happen.

Focused Content

Enjoy the best of AAP’s specialised Topics in Focus. AAP has reporters dedicated to bringing you hard news and feature content across a range of specialised topics including Environment, Agriculture, Future Economies, Arts and Refugee Issues.

AAPNews Focussed Content
Subscription Plans

Choose the plan that best fits your needs. AAPNews offers two basic subscriptions, all billed monthly.

Once you sign up, you will have seven days to test out the service before being billed.

AAPNews Full Access Plan
Full Access
AU$10
  • Enjoy all that AAPNews has to offer
  • Access to breaking news notifications and bulletins
  • Includes access to all AAPNews’ specialised topics
Join Now
AAPNews Student Access Plan
Student Access
AU$5
  • Gain access via a verified student email account
  • Enjoy all the benefits of the ‘Full Access’ plan at a reduced rate
  • Subscription renews each month
Join Now
AAPNews Annual Access Plan
Annual Access
AU$99
  • All the benefits of the 'Full Access' subscription at a discounted rate
  • Subscription automatically renews after 12 months
Join Now

AAPNews also offers enterprise deals for businesses so you can provide an AAPNews account for your team, organisation or customers. Click here to contact AAP to sign-up your business today.

SEVEN DAYS FREE
Download the app
Download AAPNews on the App StoreDownload AAPNews on the Google Play Store