BY IAN CROUCH
The massive recovery effort is getting under way following wild weather in recent days across the Hunter.
River levels are mostly falling across the region, with eh Paterson River at Gostwyck Bridge now at 6.5 metres after peaking at 10.45 metres on Sunday morning.
The Williams River at Mill Dam falls is now below the minor flood level at 4.2 metres.
Around 1500 homes and business at still without power, with some residents in Port Stephens reporting electricity being cut again after being restored - Ausgrid these are just temporary outages.
The SES has been called to almost 2,600 jobs across the Northern Region of NSW since Wednesday night.
Chief Superintendent Andrew Cribb says the recovery effort will take weeks.
"We are still going to be mopping up, so our operations will continue as we try to get our community back to their houses in a safe state. (There's lots of) tarping and tarp maintenance to go. We will be going for weeks," he said.
Natural Disaster declarations have been made for Port Stephens and Maitland, but Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Cessnock have not yet reached the threshold for a declaration, however the state government is still assessing the situation with assistance from local councils.
The SES has begun damage assessments in impacted areas.
Community hubs are open in Maitland and Port Stephens offering support to affected residents, while Community Liaison Officers have been deployed to Dungog, Maitland and Raymond Terrace.
Waste levy fees have been lifted in Newcastle, Cessnock, Maitland, Port Stephens and the Upper Hunter Shire council areas to allow residents to dispose of damaged items and storm debris without charge.
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| SES Chief Superintendent Andrew Cribb |
