High winds batter Victoria

High winds have battered Victoria, cutting power to thousands of residents and
leading to more than 300 calls for help.
Gusts of up to 120km/h have been experienced across much of the state, ahead of a
strong westerly change on Tuesday evening.
About 10,000 customers are without power on Tuesday evening in Powercor's region,
covering most of the state's west.
The Horsham area has been hit by two wind-related power faults that together have
disconnected 3,200 customers in the area between Horsham, Dimboola and Natimuk.
Power outages have also occurred at Colac and Bacchus Marsh.
About 700 customers are without power in the SP Ausnet electricity distribution
area, which covers most of eastern Victoria.
Spokeswoman Natasha Whalley said most cases were in the Dandenongs, around
Healesville and at Kinglake, where some fire-affected trees are damaging powerlines
in the high winds.
Most customers should be online again this evening, she said.
Only 35 customers are offline in Citipower's region, covering inner Melbourne.
State Emergency Service spokeswoman Simone Myers said most of the 320 assistance
calls came after noon (AEDT), as strong winds began building from the west.
Of those, 205 came from metropolitan Melbourne, with areas of the Dandenongs, the
outer eastern suburbs and Frankston worst hit.
"Most of the callouts are for trees down across roads," she said.
The SES had 350 volunteers on the road who attended to emergency calls.
Victorians have been warned to avoid travelling during the bad weather.