Wild winds lash the state leaving part of Flinders St closed Part of a building that came loose near cnr Flinders St and King St. Picture: Norm Oorloff Source: News Limited FIERCE winds have damaged buildings and left hundreds without power in the state's north tonight. State Emergency Services spokesman Stefan Delatovic said there had been 42 calls for assistance from Swan Hill and 17 from Kerang, with most coming late in the afternoon. Gusts of more than 100km/h ripped through Swan Hill and Kerang at about 5.30pm. Among the causes of distress in Swan Hill were a garage door blown off its hinges, a tree falling on to a car and caravan, a tree blocking a resident from leaving their home and several cases of roofs being partially blown off or loosened. In Kerang a building facade was reported to have fallen onto power lines and roofing sheets came loose on an empty store, an old church and a number of homes. Trees had also fallen on powerlines, causing homes and businesses - among them the Swan Hill Twilight Cinema - to black out. Powercor reported about 270 outages in Swan Hill and about 190 in the Kerang area. Mr Delatovic said the SES had received more than 400 calls from across the state by 10pm, almost half coming from metropolitan Melbourne. Most were for fallen trees He said Melbourne's east, in particular the suburbs of Eltham, Emerald, Frankston, Healesville and Narre Warren, had been hardest hit by the wild winds. Peak gusts of up to 130km/h were forecast to rock parts of the state overnight, with elevated areas at most risk, Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Rod Dickson said. The metropolitan area could experience damaging gusts of up to 120km/h, he said, following on from wind blasts of up to 80km/h which hit the area today. Mt William in the Grampians and Mt Buller copped 110km/h gusts earlier today, while Avalon in Melbourne's southwest experienced a 98km/h gust. The wild winds were also the likely cause of a beam coming loose on the 15th floor of a building on the corner of Flinders St and Norval Place this afternoon. Victoria Police spokeswoman Belle Nolan said police had been forced to close Flinders St between Spencer and King Sts during peak hour as the MFB worked to prevent the beam from falling on pedestrians. The road was reopened at about 6pm. The Route 70, 75 and 55 trams were also disrupted. The Royal Botanic Gardens was also closed due to severe weather for the second time in a week. Mr Delatovic said the SES expected to receive more calls for help throughout the night as the strong winds persisted. The SES has urged Melburnians to be mindful of their surroundings and be careful around trees. Victorians will need to brace themselves for more wild weather, with these conditions expected to persist over the next few days. The Bureau has forecast cooler conditions for tomorrow, with a chance of thunderstorms early in the morning and rainfall in parts of the state. Early morning orthwesterly winds of up to 60km/h, easing to 25km/h in the evening, are also expected. More windy weather is expected on Wednesday before conditions calm down to make way for a fine weekend. New Bureau data has also revealed Melbourne notched a record high average maximum top temperature for September of 20.1C.