Two people have died after being hit by a falling tree and more than 20,000 Tasmanians are without power as wild weather batters the state.

The pair were out in the open on a rural property in Tasmania’s north-west when they were struck on Friday, with both pronounced dead at the scene.

“It appears that the severe weather has resulted in a tree falling on private property resulting in the death of those two people,” said Acting Commander Brenda Orr.

“No other people have been injured.”

Police have yet to provide further information about the deaths, which come as winds of more than 100km/h hit the state, bringing down powerlines and damaging a hospital.

TasNetworks said it was dealing with more than 40 outages on Friday morning, mostly in the north-west, as winds reached up to .

It predicted the figure was likely to rise as the storm moved east.

“We currently expect customers affected by the most complex, isolated and inaccessible outages to be without power for at least 72 hours,” the electricity supplier said in a social media post accompanied by photos of fallen powerlines.

“Please prepare now for that scenario.

“Our crews our extremely committed, but can only work in safe conditions – considering factors like wind, lightning, fatigue and available light.”

A severe weather warning for potentially damaging winds of more than 125km/h was in place on Friday for Tasmania, plus parts of Victoria and South Australia.

Fallen trees have blocked roads across Tasmania, including to the pinnacle of Hobart’s kunanyi/Mount Wellington, while Qantas cancelled several flights scheduled to arrive in Devonport and Launceston.

The ferry service between Hobart and Bellerive was also temporarily suspended on Friday morning.

Mersey Community Hospital, in the state’s north-west, was damaged by the storm, with the Department of Health saying it was assessing the buildings to “understand the full extent of the damage”.

Ambulances bypassed the hospital, but the department said anyone requiring emergency care should continue to present to the Mersey or call triple zero.

“However, if it is not an emergency, we encourage communities in the region, if possible, to attend the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie or Launceston General Hospital if they have a need to present to hospital.”

The Mercury newspaper reported the wind also brought down a wall in Burnie.

Flood advice warnings have been issued for areas along the Huon River, Styx River, Derwent River, North Esk River and Nile River.

–with AAP