WA: Cockeyed bob rips through East Fremantle

AAP General News (Australia)
08-25-1999
WA: Cockeyed bob rips through East Fremantle

By Karen Michelmore

PERTH, Aug 25 AAP - A destructive mini-cyclone ripped through East Fremantle today,
trapping three people in a partially collapsed building, tearing roofs off buildings and
uprooting trees.

East Fremantle Mayor Andrew Smith told AAP that the storm, referred to by locals as a
"cockeyed bob", only lasted about a minute but woke thousands of residents at about 6am local
time.

Three people were trapped for about an hour on the top floor of a nine-storey apartment
block after the storm ripped off several roofs and knocked out several walls of the Harbour
Heights building.

An elderly woman was rescued and taken to Fremantle Hospital with minor injuries, while two
other people managed to free themselves, a police spokesman said.

Mr Smith said the "cockeyed bob" involved gales of up to 140 kph when it swept through the
suburb today.

"It was very intense. It is pretty scary when it happens," Mr Smith said.

"There is a nine-storey residential apartment block, built in the 1960s, where the top two
apartments on the southern side have their roofs ripped off and large portions of wall
missing," Mr Smith said from outside the block.

"It looks pretty dramatic. Half of the top floor had bits of twisted metal sticking out at
the top, walls have fallen out, windows are hanging out and lone door frames are sticking out
up to the sky.

"It's a real mess. There are a large number of trees uprooted and I can see a roof off a
house about a quarter of a mile away.

"The insulation from the apartment is up against a fence down the road."

Mr Smith said the storm swept along a narrow path for about two to three kilometres.

He said "cockeyed bob" storms were not unknown in the area, one usually ripping through the
suburb every couple of years.

Police were scouring the area to determine what other damage was caused by the storm.

AAP km/maur/was/br

KEYWORD: APARTMENT SCENE

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