Network down and lights out: Euroa grapples with storm

Others driving through the rain had to pull over on highways, unable to see the road ahead through the blistering downpour.

Imagine doing all that with no power and no working traffic lights.

This was the reality for the Euroa community.

Power to the town went out at about 4pm, before phone and internet connectivity around Euroa dropped out in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

As the storm kicked up a notch, drivers on the way home from work built up around the Clifton St-Anderson St intersection, aiming to navigate the extreme conditions and the inactive traffic lights.

This is nothing new for Euroa residents.

Power outages have been a constant irritation for the town; the traffic lights in the CBD area regularly become inactive.

But combine no traffic lights with the thunderstorm, and the result proves highly dangerous.

Luckily no-one was injured.

Euroa SES was certainly kept busy, responding to more than 50 jobs with a team of 15 volunteers.

They were out all night dealing with fallen trees on power lines and homes, as well as property and building damage.

Unit controller Georgie Cardillo said they had a family travelling to Melbourne stop in at the SES headquarters seeking refuge, and that they gave them food and shelter until it was safe to travel.

“The phone reception has been out all morning, so we’ve just had people coming in if they need help,” she said.

“We had a great crew last night and we’ve definitely been busy.”