Hailstorm Melbourne 06.03.2010

Photograph: Julie Clarke, 2010

I'd just finished my drink at one of the restaurants in a little lane way off Block Court in Melbourne today when the sky turned dark. I stepped inside to pay for my coffee just before the storm hit. After the initial terrifying realisation that hail as large as golf-balls were crashing onto the roof and windows I stepped outside again to take some photos. Most people were more excited than afraid at his point and many had their cameras out. This exuberance was short lived because rain was flowing through the ceiling and onto the floor, the building felt like it was moving, people began to feel afraid. The window of a nearby shop broke with a sickening sound. A girl in the shop grabbed hold of me and said that she suffered from anxiety attacks. So do I. We hugged and told each other that we would be alright. She told me I looked very pale. I'm also claustrophobic, so when the manager pulled down the large security shutter and closed off the only two exits I began to feel unwell. Part of the roof of the kitchen fell in, staff were trying to keep the water out. The rain was intense, but I had to get out, so they kindly opened a door for me. Outside, the trams were immobile, traffic lights out, electricity in city buildings cut, no escalators or lifts, no access to toilets and still it was pouring. Shops had shut, and if they were still opened it was because staff were trying to clean up the mess caused by flooding rains. I rang my son who was concerned about damage to his new car - the wind-screens of many cars had already been smashed by the hail. I managed to get home by walking through the city in the rain up to the Royal Melbourne hospital, where I was lucky to get a taxi home. I've discovered I have a hole in my lounge-room window and to my horror Melbourne news reports that another storm is due in the early hours of tomorrow morning! I've looked at the footage of what other people have been through, it's probably the worse storm that Melbourne (and surrounds) has experienced in the past thirty years. I've been home for the past few hours but it's still raining. We love the rain in Melbourne, but not like this!