BUNBURY couple Chloey Dougheney and Travis Davie are counting themselves lucky after a terrifying experience during a severe thunderstorm on Sunday night.
The couple had returned from a night out at the movies when the strong cold front delivered damaging winds and heavy rainfall to the South West, with Bunbury copping wind gusts close to 100 kilometres per hour.
Carey Park was the worst hit with emergency crews receiving 32 calls for help after roofs were torn from houses and large trees were uprooted.
Miss Dougheney and Mr Davie decided to take a drive to the beach to watch the lightning show about 9pm.
As they opened the front door of their Stirling Street home, the power line snapped from its pole and snaked through the air towards them.
“The line hit the gutter right on top of us and it was like someone had let off fireworks right in front of us – all we could see was blue, white and yellow sparks and the heat coming off it was unbelievable,” Miss Dougheney said.
“Travis picked me up on instinct and ran inside to the bathroom – the wind was so strong he physically couldn’t close the front door.
“It was definitely a ‘life flashing before your eyes’ moment.”
The couple had to stay in the house while the wire kept sparking until Western Power officers were able to get to the scene and fix the pole.
Western Power’s South West regional manager Kevin Collyer said crews worked throughout the night to safely repair damage caused on Sunday and Monday.
He said their emergency response crews managed to restore power to the vast majority of South West customers before sunrise.
The Bureau of Meteorology told the Bunbury Mail reports of a tornado through Bunbury were not confirmed.
Bureau duty forecaster Angus Moore said there did not seem to be evidence which was classically indicative of tornado activity.
“The damage could be caused by strong gusts coming out of the thunderstorms – tornados usually leave distinct damage patterns, that’s what we would need to see,” he said.
If you see a fallen powerline stay well away and call Western Power’s emergency line on 13 13 51.