Severe weather in the Hepburn Shire has stranded residents from Trentham in their homes on Thursday, with no power or internet after storms and heavy winds brought down trees and powerlines overnight
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High Street, Trentham, was blocked by two fallen trees from 8pm Wednesday night until about 1.30pm Thursday.
Pearsons Road, which leads into town, has broken trees as far as the eye can see.
The VicTraffic website notes the Trentham-Daylesford Road, and Greendale-Trentham Road, are still closed.
The Ballan-Daylesford Road is also closed.
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Volunteers, the SES, and the CFA, are out in large numbers to respond to the non-stop calls for assistance that emergency services have received since last night.
"We think it might be days until they can clear all the powerlines and trees," paramedic Cameron MacDonald said.
"One person on Mulcahys Road came in and said their whole roof has come off."
Mr MacDonald said it's currently impossible to drive from Trentham to Daylesford, but crews are working to clear the road from either end on the Trentham-Daylesford Road, and expect to meet in the middle somewhere near Lyonville.
Daylesford to Bullarto has so far been cleared.
Trentham Community Health is the only place in town with electricity, as they are able to run off a generator, but their internet and landlines have since dropped out.
Floods have also impacted Trentham, with one section of High Street closed due to deep water over the road.
The SES community emergency response team estimates it to be three days until power is restored.
A Powercor statement notes crews have restored power to about 70,000 households throughout the day so far, with 20,000 currently offline.
"Wind gusts of up to 90kmh and persistent strong winds are continuing to bring down trees and branches, with new faults and outages occurring," the statement says.
"The significant storm damage is also creating access issues in some areas, particularly around Trentham and Kyneton. Powercor is working closely with emergency services to ensure our crews are able to safely access some locations.
"While our crews are working as safely and as quickly as possible to get power supplies restored, the ongoing difficult conditions and extensive damage to the network means that restoration times will be longer than usual."
If people do see a fallen powerline, they should always stay well away from them and report them to Powercor immediately on 13 24 12.
The Trentham water treatment plant has lost power and Coliban Water is currently unable to access the plant to switch to generator power due to fallen trees and lack of road access.
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As of 1.30pm, Coliban Water was continuing to experience issues across its water network, particularly with Trentham's water supply.
Power has been restored to the plant, but a suspected burst water main at an unknown location is causing further headaches.
Coliban Water has asked Trentham customers to minimise non-essential water use to conserve the water supply.
About 1200 people live in Trentham.
"There are also a range of other issues across our network that we are managing as a result of extended periods of power outages," a statement on Coliban Water's website said.
"This includes several sewer pump stations that have lost power which may result in sewerage releasing from the structures and into the environment. Please avoid these areas where possible.
"If you have a problem with your water or sewer service, or if you want to report a leak or burst, call our 24-hour number 1300 363 200."
All roads in and out the town itself are also closed and there is minimal phone reception.
East Trentham Wildlife Shelter operator Manfred Zabinskas had a birthday to remember, spending the morning trying to rescue wildlife.
"I didn't realise how bad it was until I got up this morning. Everywhere I looked there were trees laying down. It was like a cyclone," he said.
"We've been bringing animals inside as quickly as we can for safety but we're in a bind because as we go out, we keep getting gusts so it's too dangerous to be outside at the moment so we're going out between the worst gusts and getting animals and bringing them inside."
While the property is off-the-grid and currently running on solar power, it has been cut off on both sides of the road with its forest location making access difficult.
"Our main concern is the animals that are our free ranging, we hope they haven't been injured. It's just too dangerous to be out in the forest. We're dealing with animals we can't get vet help for as well so the pressure's on today, it's a really big day for us," Mr Zabinskas said.
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