The Bureau of Meteorology listed the Moss Vale regional office as recording winds peaking at 91km per hour at 7pm on Monday night, which gradually fell over the last few days.

Yet the weather conditions resulted in many fallen trees in the area, including one that caused heavy damage to the Telstra sub-station at Exeter on Wednesday morning.

Telstra Countrywide Illawarra acting general manager Darren Smith said the tree fall had caused interruptions to all ADSL and mobile phone services in Exeter, which were resumed at 7.40pm on Wednesday night.

“After the SES removed the tree off the station, our technicians were able to ascertain the quickest way to reconnect customers based in Exeter,” he said.

“Given the extraordinary damage, I’m pleased we were able to restore services so quickly. We will now conduct a risk assessment on the site on other trees that may pose a risk if extreme wind conditions persist in the future.”

SES Illawarra/South Coast regional controller Peter Higgins said he expected the heavy winds to subside over the weekend.

For the full story see the Southern Highland News, Friday, July 4