A woman and young boy have had a narrow escape from injury after the roof over their heads at Wyee was torn off in wild storms on Thursday night, February 29.
The state's Ambulance dispatched a crew around 6pm after reports the woman and boy were inside a home on Wyee Road at Wyee near the bottom of Lake Macquarie when the roof was blown off in strong winds, causing considerable damage to the property.
The pair were luckily uninjured, an Ambulance spokesperson said.
The area around the south-western side of Lake Macquarie was battered by severe storms and strong winds on Thursday evening, downing trees and damaging property from Cooranbong to Swansea, where SES crews responded to more than a dozen calls for help.
A spokesperson for the service said around 8pm that the band of weather appeared to be sweeping northeast toward the Singleton and Muswellbrook areas, with Port Stephens in the path of heavy rain around 8.15pm, according to the Bureau of Meteorology's radar.
Gusts up to 46 kilometres per hour were measured at the Bureau's observation tower at Nobbys Beach in the city, and 69 kilometres per hour at Maitland Airport. Singleton was lashed under gusts measuring as much as 74 kilometres per hour, and Cessnock measured 44 kilometres per hour.
SES crews had already responded to eight calls for help at Maitland around 8pm, as well as a further four at Singleton and one at Port Stephens.
The Bureau had initially issued a warning for severe storms and strong winds for much of the Hunter region around 6.45pm, but by 8.20pm, forecasters said the immediate threat had passed.
The SES has warned residents to avoid downed power lines and trees, to keep clear of flooded creeks and storm drains, and to download the state's 'Hazards Near Me' app, which would provide immediate advice in the case of emergency.
The details of this report are developing. It may be updated.
