Bellbridge resident Nerah Blackburne captured this footage of the approaching 'tornado' before scampering inside.
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AS the clouds cleared today, the shocking extent of the damage caused by a tornado that struck Bellbridge and Bethanga has hit home.
Parts of the Lake Hume village looks like a movie set, with roofs and walls torn cleanly away to reveal the insides of homes.
Our photos in tomorrow's Border Mail will shock you.
The freak storm approached the small towns from the west across Lake Hume, sending fisherman scrambling for their lives as large trees were uprooted and flew through the air.
In the Bellbridge area at least 15 houses were damaged when the weather hit about 1.30pm.
John Russell took spectacular photos from the Bellbridge carnage. Click on the picture below for more.
Some homes had their roofs ripped off, others were left with smashed windows and flattened gardens.
Bruce Ballock was sitting in his lounge room when the ceiling of his Allan Street house disappeared from above him.
The two-storey weatherboard property is now inhabitable.
Wodonga SES commander Dave Huxtable said it was the worst of the damage inflicted by the catastrophic winds and left Mr Ballock with a “pretty bad” cut to his hand.
Down the hill in Craig Drive, the Chapman family’s A-frame home was ripped in half.
Their lounge room and two bedrooms have been left with no roof or walls.
As the sun set yesterday, Tony Chapman was drinking a cold beer and counting his blessings that neither he, or his wife or two children, were at home during the storm.
He said his daughter Megan, 13, would have usually been sitting on a couch that was blown out their second-storey window.
“I thought they were at home, luckily they were out because it would have been horrific,” Mr Chapman said.
Wodonga SES had a total 75 calls for assistance overnight, however Mr Huxtable said some damage in the Bellbridge and Bethanga area could still be unreported because of the large number of holiday homes in the area.
Severe weather forecaster Tony Bannister last night said it was the worst damage to be reported so far in Victoria during the storm.
Mr Bannister said while freak winds had the “feeling of a tornado”, he was unable to officially confirm it without surveying the damage first hand.
Across the North East yesterday, predicted rain falls of up to 80 millimetres failed to arrive.
Deniliquin recorded the region’s highest rainfall yesterday, with 15.8 millimetres falling up until 10.30pm, while Albury-Wodonga recorded 9.6 millimetres, Rutherglen 5.8 millimetres, Wangaratta 6.2 millimetres and Wagga 3.2 millimetres.
Follow the wild Victorian weather in this live blog.
