State Emergency Service crews have been busy throughout the Hunter on Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, as damaging winds continue to lash many parts of the state.
SES figures show that volunteers responded to 97 calls for help in the past 24 hours in the agency's northern zone, which stretches from the Central Coast to Nambucca and out to Merriwa and Murrurundi.
It was by far the busiest zone in the state, ahead of the southern zone which had 42 calls for help.
There were 250 jobs across the state in the 24 hours to Thursday morning, with about 100 volunteers working through the night. Almost half were in the mid-north coast.
In the upper Hunter, fierce storms and winds of more thank 100km/h led to a large clean-up effort.
The dangerous weather front hit the region in the early afternoon on Wednesday and peaked around 10pm.
Wind gusts as fast as 102km/h and 98km/h were recorded before 11pm on Wednesday at Murrurundi Gap and Scone respectively.
Damaging winds are expected to ease by about midday on Thursday but will likely remain moderately strong into Friday.
Superintendent Andrew Cribb said the stormfront brought "significant thunderstorms" and rainfall of up to 20mL in some areas of the Hunter.
"That rainfall obviously created flash flooding," he said.
Mr Cribb said his team was "very, very happy" no flood rescues had to be performed last night.
"The NSW SES want to thank the community for heading our warnings and not driving or walking through floodwaters," he said. "Ultimately, it meant the public was safe during this event."
He urged residents to have a flood plan, check the 'Hazards Near Me' app or website regularly and turn on alerts.
"Those warnings are there for a reason," Mr Cribb said.
A ferocious start to flood season comes at the start of what is set to be a brutal summer for the region.
Last week, a spokesperson from the Rural Fire Service told the Herald the Hunter had the most bush fires of concern of any region so far this year. More than 45 fires have hit the area in the last fortnight.
On Tuesday, residents near Cessnock fled their houses amid bushfire concerns. The fire ravaged grassland less than two hours by road from regions experiencing flood warnings
"We have a system for how we prioritise [calls]," Mr Cribb said. This started with protection of life, followed by property and animals.
"The jobs [this week] ranged from trees in houses and cars, roads closed due to trees down and damage because of things flying around from people's backyards," he said.
Many of the state's public parks are under review ahead of the season. Crown Lands, who manage much of the bushland across NSW, are conduction helicopter examinations of 700 fire trails.
Watagans National Park has been closed by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service after a fire sparked at Monkey Face on the weekend.
SES safety tips:
- Exercise caution when driving. If you come across a flooded road, pull over, wait for conditions to improve or find an alternative route. Never drive through flooded roads. Roads will be slippery and potentially impacted by fallen trees
- Check road conditions at Live Traffic and your local council website before travelling.
- Stay away from trees and fallen powerlines. Secure loose items around your properties and stay indoors if possible.
- Download the Hazards Near me App or visit ses.nsw.gov.au for latest information.
- Stay up to date with current weather and conditions by downloading the BOM weather app or visit www.bom.gov.auquot;">www.bom.gov.auamp;source=gmail&ust=1696537014058000&usg=AOvVaw0zd0xb25vX0yVXuMdYHOC7" www.bom.gov.au
