Severe storms in Victoria cause havoc

Thousands of commuters were stranded at Melbourne Airport after a car crash forced a
road closure and caused traffic chaos during a wild storm that swept Victoria.
A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for a wide section of Victoria, east of
a line from Geelong in the south top Kerang in the north, as the storms moved across
the state on Thursday afternoon. The warning has since been lifted.
Forecasters warned of flash flooding, damaging winds and large hailstones.
A man was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital after being freed from his car
which crashed into a tree off Sunbury Road at Greenvale about 4.30pm (AEDT) on
Thursday as a severe electrical storm deluged the metropolitan area.
Sunbury Road leads to the Tullamarine Freeway, which feeds the airport and
distributes traffic to Melbourne's northwest.
The road was closed in both directions for more than two hours, causing traffic to
bank up quickly.
"The airport is in gridlock," one traveller told AAP.
"People are waiting up to three-quarters of an hour just to get out of the airport.
"There were at least 800 people waiting for cabs when I was there and thousands of
passengers are stuck there."
Airport spokeswoman Sara Currie said the crash had caused traffic chaos.
"The accident has happened away from the airport but obviously it has caused heavy
traffic congestion that has built very quickly."
The road re-opened about 7pm, and airport road traffic controllers were working to
clear the backlog, Ms Currie said.
The State Emergency Service (SES) had received more than 500 calls for assistance
from across Victoria by 7pm (AEDT) on Thursday, with the vast majority from
Melbourne's north and west and related to flash flooding.
Worst-affected areas included Brimbank (104 calls), Melton (74), Bacchus Marsh (47)
and Footscray and Essendon (30 calls each), SES spokeswoman Kate Millar said.
A woman was injured after the roof of her inner-city office collapsed during the
wild storm in Melbourne.
The 24-year-old woman and a colleague hid under desks when the plasterboard gave way
and the roof caved in on Thursday afternoon.
"She has her neck in a brace as a precaution and was taken to the Epworth Hospital,
but the injuries are not considered serious," Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman
Susannah Wilson told AAP.
More than 20,000 customers in Melbourne and Victoria's west lost power during the
severe thunderstorms and lightning.
The storms also caused chaos on train lines for peak hour commuters.
VicRoads has urged drivers to take extra caution while driving on the wet roads,
with more than 100 sets of traffic lights knocked out across Melbourne, flash
flooding and other hazards.