TWO people are in a critical condition and 18 others have been left injured after tornadoes and powerful storms hit Victoria's northeast yesterday.
The severe storms hit Yarrawonga, Mulwala, Bundalong and Rutherglen about 8pm, the SES said.
Caravans were overturned, roofs were ripped off homes and buildings damaged during the wild weather.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Richard Carlyon said video footage confirmed there were tornadoes in the region.
"We may have had tornadoes running for around 20km/h or 50km/h, causing extensive damage across a 100m-200m path. It’s hard to estimate how strong the winds were," he told 3AW radio.
Ambulance Victoria spokesman Peter Swan said paramedics responded to dozens of calls, with some people suffering serious injuries from flying debris.
Tornadoes left a trail of destruction in Victoria's northeast. Picture: Dave Jones / Twitter
"We are on standby expecting that there may be other patients around this morning," he said.
"This is certainly a very unusual event to occur in Victoria."
Manager of Emergency Management Jon Byrne said paramedics treated and transported 20 people to hospital, including four who were taken to Melbourne by air ambulance.
The storm ripped through Denison County Caravan Park in Mulwala. Pic: madbart66 / Twitter
A man in his 50s is in a critical condition in the Royal Melbourne Hospital with head, pelvis and abdominal injuries.
Another man in his 50s is in a critical condition in The Alfred Hospital suffering head injuries.
A man and woman aged in their 70s are in the Royal Melbourne with broken bones after their caravan was flipped in the strong winds. And a man aged in his 40s is suffering spinal injuries after a tree smashed onto his car.
"With an incident like this, there is always the potential to be faced with mass casualties," Mr Byrne said.
A tornado near Lake Mulwala. Picture: Louise Lynch
"Other patients were treated by paramedics for injuries including cuts and fractures. Many of them had been hit by flying debris."
Mr Byrne said paramedics and other emergency services had to negotiate a number of large, fallen trees in the dark to reach patients.
"There were also concerns for a number of ruptured gas cylinders in one area, prompting us to send a standby crew to the scene for any potential patients," he said.
The SES received more than 150 calls for help in the region, and about 1000 from across the state.
A petrol station damaged in Euroa during the wild weather.
The main streets of Rutherglen and Yarrawonga both suffered widespread damage, an SES spokesman said.
"This is certainly some of the fiercest weather I've seen, and some of the more experienced hands have echoed that view," the spokesman said.
Wild winds also battered other parts of the state yesterday.
A Knox boy had a close escape on his way to school when a tree fell in his path.
The SES was also called out to remove a large gum tree had fallen on to a car after hitting a powerline in The Basin's Old Forest Rd.
One driver was being checked by paramedics after a tree crushed his car in Kilmore during high wind gusts.
A woman called for help after a tree fell on her vehicle in Kew, bringing down live power lines on the ground around the car.
She was told not to leave the vehicle for fear she could be electrocuted. Firefighters, SES and ambulance officers were on the scene to safely remove her from the car.
St Kilda recorded a top gust of 100km/h. Tullamarine reached a top of 94km/h with other suburbs had winds between 70km/h and 90km/h.
- with Alex White and Angus Thompson
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