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Wild weather is lashing Australia’s east and, in some cities and towns, the destruction resembles a war zone. Alongside first responders and insurers, an Australian business is working to keep people safer and in their homes until repairs can be made.
20 January 2019, by Sandra Fulloon
Violent storms have created chaos in Australia’s east, with hail stones battering Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.
Emergency Services received thousands of calls for help this week after golf ball sized hail stones caused widespread damage, with heavy rain causing flash flooding in some areas.
Hailstones up to five centimetres in diameter damaged homes, even cutting through tiles.
“When there’s a clean cut like a bullet hole through the tiles then you know those are big hail stones,” builder Matthew Lennox said.
“Those are the hail stones that cause the most damage.”
Experts are assessing the damage and emergency teams are cleaning up, with hundreds of homes reporting damage.
“When you do go through [major storm damage] it’s traumatic, so traumatic,” Mr Lennox said.
Typically, first responders secure damaged roofs with tarpaulins.
“I’ve seen so many tarpaulins fly loose from buildings damaged by storms. Then if another weather event hits, more water damage can occur,” he explained.
His company Stormseal has trained installers in a safer method to protect storm-damaged homes.
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