Farm workers sheltering in shed survive as freak storm rips through Pindar property

A Mid West farmer has described the shock of watching his machinery shed blown clean off its foundations and fly over the heads of those sheltering inside during a freak storm event that tore through Pindar. Wheat farmer John Flannagan and four other workers took cover in the 324sqm shed as heavy rain and lighting started to lash the property, east of Mullewa, on Friday afternoon. Minutes after moving to the back of the shed to hide from the rain, gale force winds lifted the entire structure about 30ft in the air. “It happened that fast,” Mr Flannagan said. “The whole thing just lifted up and every single pole that was in the ground lifted out with the concrete footings and all. “It ended up 60m away.” The five farm workers quickly ran to nearby utes and drove them out into the middle of a paddock to avoid debris. While the worst of the storm only lasted a few minutes, it caused plenty of damage. Mr Flannagan’s brother and farming partner Mark Flannagan said the Pindar property resembled a warzone. “It was like a bomb was going off,” he said. “It was a hell of a force.” He said it was lucky no one was injured during the storm. “If the shed had been dragged sideways it wouldn’t have been good at all,” he said. “It could have gone anywhere.” The heavy winds snapped several power poles in the area, leaving a number of residents without electricity for much of the weekend. More than 350 homes and businesses in Mullewa, Pindar and surrounding areas were affected by the outage. Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Angeline Prasad said the destructive winds would have reached at least 125km/h to cause that kind of havoc. “There could be two things that happened over Pindar, either it was a tornado or it was a very intense downdraft from a very severe thunderstorm,” she said. “It was a very intense event, very unusual. “To get a shed blown away and poles snapped in half you need a pretty intense storm.” Mark Flannagan said the “mini-tornado” brought back memories of cyclone Seroja. He said the ruined shed was a big loss for the farm given how long it is taking to get anything built. “We are really disappointed because we just know you can’t get anything done,” he said. “It’s going to be difficult to replace in a hurry. “It’s 42 degrees every day for the next week, so you don’t have anything to work underneath.”