ALL GONE: A freak gust of wind blew the roof off Jason Blowes’s home early yesterday morning. Photo: STEVE GOSCH 0222sgroof3
ORANGE man Jason Blowes was lucky to escape injury when the roof of his Kangaroobie Road property was ripped off in strong gusty winds early yesterday morning.
Mr Blowes was laying awake in his bed at 7am when he heard a loud noise coming from the back of his house.
“It was just a huge gust of wind, like a mini tornado,” he said.
“I was just about to get up and heard a noise and saw the roof was gone.
“It was a big shock, I think I’m still in shock.”
Mr Blowes said there had been strong winds blowing on Thursday night and into yesterday morning at his property.
“I heard the noise and it hit out the back ... as I opened the door I saw the roof up against a tree,” he said.
“I was laying in bed and just about to get up, it’d been blowing a gale all night.”
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Stephen Stefanac said there were no recorded strong gusts of wind overnight, and at 7am yesterday gusts of just 33km/h were recorded at Orange Airport.
“We wouldn’t expect winds strong enough to blow a roof off a house,” he said.
Mr Stefanac said there were also no thunderstorms or strong wind activity recorded at the airport.
“There could have been some wave [swirling wind] activity that touched down in this area,” he said.
“It could have come over the Great Dividing Range and touched down there.”
Orange SES volunteers spent eight hours at the property yesterday to cover the house with tarps to protect the it from the weather.
“The roof itself was completely removed from the rest of the house,” he said.
SES volunteers also cut up the corrugated iron roof to ensure it did not blow around in the wind.
Mr Blowes said the roof was only six months old and part of renovations he is having completed at his home.
Late yesterday Mr Blowes said he was still waiting to hear back from his insurance company to check if he will be covered due to a late payment.
“I was only overdue by a week.”
nadine.morton@
fairfaxmedia.com.au
