The dangers that gum trees can pose has once again been highlighted by the tragic death of a man in Adelaide.
The 57-year-old was killed when a tree branch crashed into his pergola on the weekend. Another man was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with minor injuries.
The ABC reports that councils in Adelaide’s north-east have since been ‘inundated’ with requests to check overhanging trees near their properties.
It is the second death caused by a falling tree branch in South Australia in just over a month. In November, a woman driving a car in the Adelaide Hills was killed when a tree branch fell on her vehicle.
The latest tragedy is a reminder that campers can also be at risk.
Last year, a group of campers were lucky to escape with their lives after a huge gum tree branch fell across their campsite at Twin Knobs Beach at Cobram in Victoria.
In 2016, a man was killed on a camping trip after a large gum tree fell on him in the Conondale National Park in Queensland.
A few years before that, a woman was killed when a tree branch fell on her at a campsite at Boorhaman, north of Wangaratta in Victoria. Another camper — a woman in her 40s — was also trapped under the branches of the red gum tree, but was pulled to safety and escaped with minor injuries.
Similarly, a couple staying near the Bluewater Caravan Park in Townsville a few years suffered serious injuries after a tree fell on their caravan.
And one grey nomad couple even had a tree fall on them as they drove along the Glenelg Highway in Victoria.
Experts warn that trees can drop limbs, or entire trees can fall, without warning and at any time. However, they may be particularly prone to dropping a limb or falling when they are stressed by events such as high wind, extreme temperature, or heavy rain. Campers need to be aware that falling tree limbs may bounce against other limbs, and swing out well beyond the edge of the tree’s canopy.
In the military, we call those trees “widow-makers”. Always prefer to camp out in the open for that reason.
Cyclones- the best free Arborists around.But cyclones- can -” brittle trees-” to fall or break at a later time..My choice- I’d never park nor live with any gumtrees