A man is in hospital after being hit by a falling tree after winds of more than 100km/h bought down powerlines and damaged buildings across Victoria.
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The State Emergency Service received almost 1000 calls for help on Wednesday, mostly from the Mornington Peninsula and West Gippsland areas.
A 22-year-old man suffered head and neck injuries after being hit by a tree at Hastings, with nearly 800 trees falling across the state.
Winds of 109km/h were recorded at St Kilda and 133km/h at Wilsons Promontory.
More than 60,000 properties lost power, but United Energy said less than 1000 were offline late in the day.
Melbourne train commuters faced lengthy delays from trees falling on train tracks and overhead wires.
Passengers were trapped on a train near Jolimont Station for about 40 minutes, with images posted to social media showing a branch teetering over a carriage.
Up to 400 people were escorted off the train and along the tracks before crews cleared the tree.
Strong winds also blew a cable reel off a truck on the Westgate Bridge, forcing the closure of two lanes.
About 180 buildings were damaged across Victoria before winds eased in the afternoon.
The highest wind speed recorded was on Hogan Island, in Bass Strait, which was hit with gusts of 150km/h.
Australian Associated Press