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Posted: 2024-09-04 01:28:02

Six days since severe weather hit Tasmania, more than 11,000 customers are still without power, with some residents struggling to stay warm and feed themselves.

The state's north and north-west are the worst hit, and the area may face more damaging winds in coming days.

As TasNetworks crews scramble to restore power around the state, the SES has finished assessing flood damage in the worst-hit area of Derwent Valley, north-west of Hobart.

The SES said 37 properties had been damaged, including two homes, 11 community facilities and 10 industrial sites.

"A number of outbuildings and infrastructure such as bridges, and road surfaces have also been damaged," SES executive director Mick Lowe said.

Mr Lowe urged Tasmanians who were cleaning up to "please be safe" and alert "to the dangers of damaged trees and fallen powerlines".

Fallen trees and flooded waters

Ouse, in Tasmania's central highlands, is one of the towns hit by flood damage. (ABC News: Owain Stia-James)

A TasNetworks spokeswoman said crew safety was vital as they worked to restore power around the state.

"Leaders are being really strict on making sure that they have downtime, that they're not working long hours, that they're getting sufficient rest, providing them food and things like that," spokeswoman Danielle Duffin said.

She thanked Tasmanians for their patience and acknowledged there were still long delays to repairs.

"What's happening at the moment is our crews are going out and 'making safe', so that's basically making sure that fallen powerlines aren't live."

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Small town isolated without power or phones

Mark Paton owns a caravan park at Wayatinah in the Central Highlands.

He told ABC Mornings the park was without power from Sunday night until Tuesday afternoon.

A caravan and annex sit right next to floodwaters.

The Wayatinah Lakeside Caravan Park was cut off by floodwaters.  ( Facebook: Wayatinah Lakeside Caravan Tourist Park)

"With the freezers, I'd already started prepping for grand final day, because we have a bit of a thing up here, and I put some put some food and things on, but we lost all that," he said.

The situation has been complicated by the small town being cut off by floodwaters.

"The tower at Wayatinah doesn't have a battery backup. So when the power goes down, we just lose communication with everybody.

"The closest communication we can get to is Ouse to get phone reception. But with the road being cut off, we couldn't get in there to do that."

Mr Paton also has some damage to repair at the park itself.

"We've had a few trees down. We had one tree come down over one of our long-term site holders' vans. I'll be doing the clean-up on that today," he said.

'Luxury' of a generator

In Waratah in the state's north-west, friends Judi Hunter and Ronald Williams are living in converted shipping containers with three dogs while they build a home.

Ms Hunter said she was fearful during the storm, despite having moved from Queensland where they routinely experienced tropical cyclones.

"You're hearing things banging and crashing … what's flying across the paddock? What could hurt the livestock next door?" Ms Hunter said.

"All of this is going through your mind."

A man and woman stand outside a converted shipping container, the woman leaning on the knob of an open door.

Ronald Williams and Judi Hunter say Sunday night's storm was terrifying.  (ABC News: Rebecca Pridham)

"A lot of anxiety occurs, a lot of worry for the people around that may not have the luxuries of a generator or a solar panel."

Luckily, the pair does have generators to keep the lights on and the water pumping, and a gas cooktop inside to cook on, but they are worried about the power staying off for any longer.

Mr Williams said he had driven into Burnie on Tuesday morning to gather supplies for himself and Ms Hunter, but also to collect some medications and other supplies for neighbours.

Living off vegemite sandwiches

Also in the north-west, couple Helmut and Lorette Bauerle have been living in freezing conditions in their house since Saturday.

"Imagine when you've got a frosty night … that's inside, that's what it feels like," Mr Bauerle said. 

They have been unable to have a hot shower since the power went off.

In their isolated town of Waratah, the only shop is the service station, which was being powered by generators.

Power has been patchy for days and supplies in the town are limited. Staples such as bread and milk are available to buy, but not fuel.

An older man with long, grey beard in a dressing gown sits in an armchair

Helmut Bauerle says Sunday's storm was "awful". (ABC News: Sandy Powell)

The couple has been living on vegemite sandwiches and are running out of batteries for their torch, which was a problem as Helmut's eyesight is "terrible" and he walks into things.

Mr Bauerle said Sunday night's storm was the worst he had experienced in his 30 years living in the town, and he was worried about the roof coming off at times.

An older woman with long, grey hair sits beside a window.

Lorette Bauerle and her husband are rugging up in dressing gowns while waiting for their power to be restored. (ABC News: Sandy Powell)

Emergency food assistance

The state government has announced an emergency food grant for those without power for more that 72 hours.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff said affected residents were eligible for payments of $350.

"With cost-of-living pressures challenging many household budgets, the unexpected expense of restocking the fridge and freezer will be difficult for many Tasmanians," he said.

"This Emergency Food Grant Fund will go towards helping flood-affected Tasmanians repurchase everyday supplies."

Order for TasNetworks employees to suspend strike action

In the lead up to the storms, TasNetworks and unionised employees had been locked in a pay dispute.

Industrial action was paused for the wild weather, but now the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has gone further and ordered it be suspended for a month.

TasNetworks took the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) to the FWC on Tuesday, alleging its leadership had ordered members not to reconnect power to several industrial users on Saturday, following storm damage.

These included transmission lines for the Woolnorth and Musselroe Bay wind farms, Grange Resource's Savage River mine, and a timber mill.

CEPU organiser Chris Clark said power was restored once the union was convinced there was a safety reason to do so.

But the FWC found the initial delay was a breach of the union's agreement with TasNetworks for storm repairs.

He said the one-month suspension was intended to cover the restoration works for Tasmania's power network, which has experienced widespread damage.

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