Vic asthma storms claims six lives

WHAT IS THUNDERSTORM ASTHMA?

* An epidemic of asthma symptoms during or immediately following a thunderstorm

WHAT CAUSED MONDAY'S EVENT?

* Pollen blew into Melbourne during the blustery day from the state's northern pastures

* Pollen grains absorbed moisture during the evening thunderstorms and then burst into hundreds of tiny allergenic fragments

* Those tiny fragments are small enough to penetrate deep into the airways causing asthma

WHO DIED?

* Hope Carnevali, 20

* father-of-two Clarence Leo

* Omar Moujalled, 18

* Apollo Papadopoulos, 35

* A woman who died at Northern Hospital on Friday night

* A person who died at an Eastern Health hospital on Saturday night.