Rowville couple Vasili and Maria Nevodinski were at home having a cup of tea when the storm hit about 3pm on Saturday.

Mr Nevodinski said hailstones had been coming through the windows and it had rained heavily.

"After about an hour, the roof collapsed. Everything was falling."

"The roof came down piece by piece. It started in the kitchen, and then more and more.

"Then the living room started to come down, and then the billiard room down piece by piece.

"The insulation gets wet and heavy and brings things down."

Mr Nevodinski said it had been a scary situation.

"The hail started small, then it came down as big as cricket balls."

Heany Park Primary School in Rowville also had damage to its gymnasium, administration building and prep building. However, pupils were back at school yesterday morning.

At Balmoral Gardens Retirement Village in Wantirna South, about three-quarters of the centre's 197 units needed repair work after the storms.

Electrical and glazing works, and replacement of roof tiles were some of the jobs that needed to be done.

Manager John Kaye said rain on Sunday night had worsened the problem.

"But we've had a whole lot of tradespeople we've been able to call in at the drop of a hat, so the residents are probably much better off here than outside the village."

Pictures: Wayne Hawkins and Rob Carew