Hero mates brave Victoria's horror storm to jump up a tree and climb into an 85-year-old woman's house to save her life as wild weather kills three people
Two young men have told of how they risked their lives by venturing out into Melbourne's deadly storm to save their elderly neighbour after a tree fell on her house.
The wild weather cut a path of destruction through the city's east on Thursday night with trees brought down, cars demolished and homes damaged.
The lives of a man, woman, and four-year-old boy were tragically lost after they were hit by falling trees in separate incidents.
In a dramatic rescue in the suburb of Belgrave, two teenage boys braved the storm and climbed through a window in their 85-year-old neighbour's house to save her.
Joshua O'Connell and his mate Michael described the storm as something out of a movie with their house shaking and trees falling 'left, right, and centre' including one that smashed into their neighbour's house
The boys described trying to climb the fallen tree into their neighbour's house before smashing a window
Joshua O'Connell and his mate Michael described the storm as something out of a movie with their house shaking and trees falling 'left, right, and centre' including one into their neighbour's house.
'Straightaway we rushed out to see what we could do. I tried to jump up the tree and climb into the house that way, but unfortunately it was all caved in,' Mr O'Connell told the Today show.
He said he next thought of going through a window, so he smashed the kitchen glass and climbed through.
'I called out her name and luckily I could hear her ... The tree crushed the middle of the house so she was stuck in the lower part of the house.'
He said he and Michael then looked after the woman until rescue crews arrived.
'The roof has just missed her. When I've jumped in she was still sitting on the couch, there was a part of the roof that was this far away from her head. She was completely oblivious to what had happened.'
The boys said a team of ten people then helped to get the woman safely out of the house so she could be properly assessed by paramedics.
Joshua said the woman was unaware of how much danger she was in when he and his friend Michael finally reached her
Volunteers worked through the night to try to clear the fallen trees and branches littered across roads and railway tracks
A four-year-old boy was one of three people tragically killed in the storm after he was hit by a falling tree in Blackburn South at about 6pm, according to The Herald Sun.
The boy was rushed to Box Hill Hospital and then transferred to the Royal Children's Hospital but succumbed to his injuries later on Thursday night.
A 59-year-old Tecoma man also died when his car was crushed while leaving a shopping centre in Belgrave at about 6pm.
The third person, a 36-year-old woman, was killed when a tree fell on a ute in the outer eastern suburb of Fernshaw at about 6.50pm.
A four-year-old boy was one of three people tragically killed in the storm after he was hit by a falling tree in Blackburn South (pictured: crews at the scene on Friday)
Arborists access a fallen tree which struck and killed a 4-year-old boy in Blackburn South, Melbourne, on August 28, 2020
About 160,000 people lost electricity at the height of the storm and about 53,000 properties remain without power on Friday morning.
An Ausnet spokesperson has urged people to beware of fallen power lines and said aerial teams and ground crews were working to repair the damage.
The State Emergency Service said the hardest hit areas were Mt Evelyn, Belgrave, Croydon, and Lillydale.
SES state duty officer Gerry Sheridan told 3AW his crews were still responding to nearly 400 jobs as of Friday morning.
Damaging winds also tore roofs off buildings sparking a warning from the SES for residents to stay indoors