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Toddler killed in storm tragedy

The family of a toddler killed when a wild storm brought a tree down onto a house in Melbourne has been left shattered, a close family friend says.

The two-year-old boy died and a girl suffered serious injuries when a huge branch fell on their house at The Patch in the Dandenong Ranges.

Emergency services were called to the home about 9:00pm (AEDT) and had to rescue two adults and a five-year-old girl.

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The tree had pinned four people in the house – the young boy and girl, and both adults.

A family friend, who did not want to be named, said the everyone was struggling to come to terms with what happened.

“They’re one of the pillar families in this community and they’re just shattered they really are,” he said.

He said the was girl, who was struck by debris from the falling tree, was expected to make a recovery.

Sergeant David McIlfatrick said his heart went out to the family involved.

“It’s just a tragic situation for everyone involved and really unfortunate for the family,” he said.

Sound of impact like a ‘car crash’

Neighbour Warren Soussa said he heard an huge crashing noise but thought it was a car crash.

“I had no idea at that point that the tree had come down on the neighbour’s house,” he said.

“It’s very, very sad. It’s the first time there’s ever been a death on our road in the 20 years I lived here.”

ABC News: Guy Stayner

The tree branch crashed into the house during a wild thunderstorm. Photo: ABC

He said the local community had been rocked by the tragedy.

“You don’t expect these things to happen in your community but when it does, and to such nice people, it’s very upsetting.”

The tragedy was one of three storm-related incidents paramedics were called to involving trees.

A woman was also taken to hospital with a broken leg after a tree fell on her in South Yarra in Melbourne’s south-east.

A man aged in his 40s was taken to Box Hill Hospital in a stable condition after a tree fell onto his leg at The Basin.

Power is being restored across the state after more than 90,000 properties were without electricity overnight.

The Victorian State Emergency Service said it received nearly 1,300 call-outs across the state.

Most of the calls were about fallen trees and traffic hazards, with nearly 900 requests for assistance coming from the Melbourne area.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade responded to dozens of fallen power lines and road blockages.

Weather bureau senior forecaster Scott Williams said the wind and rain was more intense than expected.

“We were expecting 10-15 millimetres of rain … as an average … so that happened in the western suburbs, but it was quite a bit more in the east and of course the winds were a good 30 or 40 kph stronger,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Melbourne Airport said anyone with flights should check for delays with their airline.

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