A severe storm swept through north-west Tasmania, causing a tree to fall on private property and resulting in two fatalities, while also prompting emergency services to respond to 72 assistance requests.

Travel disruptions occurred across Tasmania, with cancellations at Devonport and Launceston airports, and some areas remaining inaccessible with outages expected to persist.

Heavy rainfall and ongoing severe winds are expected to continue into the weekend, increasing flood risks and causing river levels to rise across the state.

Wind gusts reached up to 139 km/h in Tasmania, especially in the north-east and exposed areas, with the worst winds passing but still gusting at 100-110 km/h in the afternoon.

The Mersey Community Hospital sustained damage, leading to ambulance diversions and reduced capacity, while fallen trees blocked roads including access to Hobart’s Mt Wellington.

The storm led to widespread property damage and power outages, affecting over 20,000 homes due to fallen powerlines, with some outages expected to last up to 72 hours in inaccessible areas.

As the system moves eastward, weather warnings have been extended to Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia, with damaging wind gusts forecast for these regions.