He heard the police helicopter fly overhead on Wednesday afternoon but did find out about the two deaths until later.
“I don’t know the circumstances … I don’t know why you’d be in the water when it’s so treacherous,” he said.
The State Emergency Service was swamped with more than 1400 calls, including reports of more than 1000 toppled trees. Just 22 calls for assistance were outstanding by 6.30am on Thursday, a spokesperson said.
Wind gusts of up to 130km/h were recorded at Wilsons Promontory, 120km/h at Mount Gellibrand, 117km/h at Falls Creek, 113km/h at Mount Hotham and 98km/h at Cape Otway.
The powerful winds peaked in Melbourne at 96km/h in St Kilda.
In Malvern, a large tree toppled onto a tram and the rear of a car near Cabrini Hospital. The female car driver told ABC radio she rushed to check on her daughter sitting in the back seat.
Wild winds felled a treen onto a tram near Cabrini Hospital in Malvern.
“I stopped, and I saw a tree branch had come through the back window of the car … my daughter was in the child’s seat, so I ran out to see if she was OK,” she said.
Power companies are still working to restore power to hundreds of households on Thursday morning. On Wednesday evening, 13,111 homes were without electricity across the state.
A severe weather warning for more destructive winds has been cancelled, as the low-pressure system moves into the Tasman Sea and towards New Zealand, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
“The impacts of this battering were pretty extensive,” said senior meteorologist Angus Hines.
Melburnians battle strong winds in the CBD. Credit: Joe Armao
He said Victorians could expect calmer weather on Thursday.
“It will be cool and very settled across most of the south-east, although there’ll be quite a bit of cloud cover for some parts of southern Australia, very little rain in the forecast as well,” Hines said.