BY IAN CROUCH
Emergency services have been called to a serious a multi-vehicle crash at Glen Oak.
It's understood 3 cars collided on Clarence Town Road just before 7.00anm on Monday.
NSW Ambulance says the drivers of two of the cars suffered minor injuries but a woman driving a third car was trapped after her vehicle collided with a tree.
It took about an hour to free her from the wreckage.
She's being flown to hospital in a critical condition by the Hunter's Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
BY IAN CROUCH
Four people have been rescued after heavy rain caused flash flooding across Newcastle overnight.
A slow moving storm moved across the LGA late Wednesday afternoon dumping 55 millimetres of rain in just one hour at the Merewether Pump Station.
Adam Williams from the SES says they were called out to 138 jobs as water quickly overflowed drains in the city and nearby suburbs.
"The majority of these calls were for trees and branches down and leaking rooves. However NSW SES members to four flood rescues in the Merewether and Hamilton South area due to flash flooding caused by this rainfall. One person was rescued from a property due to waist-high water levels and another person was rescued from their car stuck in floodwaters by NSW Fire & Rescue," he said.
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 |
BY IAN CROUCH
Emergency services have been stretched to the limit after wild storms lashed the Hunter overnight.
Almost 55,000 customers remain without power, with more than 32,000 of those in the Port Stephens area.
Ausgrid says 90% of the outages were caused by lightning strikes and complex repairs could take until later on Thursday to be completed.
Near cyclonic winds were reported in some areas, with wind gusts reportedly reaching 120km/hr at Williamtown at about 9.00pm on Wednesday.
The State Emergency Service has responded to around 500 calls for assistance, with just over 200 coming from the Maitland area alone. Many homes in the area have lost rooves and sustained flash flooding, while trees and power lines are down over a wide area of the Lower and Upper Hunter region.
Several sets of traffic lights have also been blacked out and police are urging people to stay home unless it's essential to be out on the roads and for motorists to drive with caution.
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| Port Stephens SES volunteers attending to one of hundreds of trees brought down in overnight storms. Picture Port Stephens SES |
BY IAN CROUCH
Two people have been taken to hospital following a single vehicle crash at Nelsons Plains near Raymond Terrace early today.
In a statement, Police say the vehicle left Raymond Terrace Road near the Seaham Road intersection and overturned at about 12.45am on Friday.
Police, Ambulance, RFS and SES crews were called to the incident.
A 22-year-old male passenger was trapped in the wreckage before being freed and taken to the John Hunter Hospital in a serious condition with multiple injuries.
The driver, a woman in her early 20's, was also taken to the John Hunter with minor shoulder and chest injuries and will undergo mandatory alcohol and drug tests.
Raymond Terrace Road has been reopened to traffic after being examined by crash investigators.
BY IAN CROUCH
Weather watchers will be looking to the record books this week as the Hunter continues to receive a soaking.
Almost a month's worth of rain has fallen in parts of Newcastle over the past 24 hours.
Nobbys has received 107mm while the State Emergency Service has been called to dozens of requests for help including a flood rescue at Tea Gardens where local roads were inundated.
Meanwhile, trains between Newcastle Interchange and Maitland have been stopped due to flooding on the tracks at Sandgate. Buses are replacing trains.
More rain is forecast through until Sunday, with falls likely to intensify towards the weekend.
It's prompted a warning from the SES, who are again urging residents and motorists not to take risks and not drive through floodwaters or roads covered with water.
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| Settlers Way at Tea Gardens is one of several local roads affected by flash flooding. Picture Stroud SES |
BY IAN CROUCH
Hundreds of Lake Macquarie residents remain without power on Thursday morning after a wild storm tore through the region late on Wednesday afternoon.
Several trees came down in parts of Cessnock, Morisset and Southern Lake Macquarie and there were reports of flash flooding.
More than 700 homes and businesses are still without power in Buttaba, Arcadia Vale, Wangi, Dora Creek, Morisset and Martinsville.
In one incident, the roof of a carport was blown off at a home in Baker Street, Dora Creek which blew across the street, cutting power lines.
120 volunteers from 30 SES teams have been busy attending to 158 calls for help in the Northern Region of NSW which includes the Hunter.
The SES says there were 30 jobs in Cessnock, 35 in Wyong, 30 in Cooranbong and 18 in Taree.
Most of the calls were for fallen trees, leaking or damaged rooves and downed power lines.
The storms brought more welcome rain to parts of the Upper and Lower Hunter, with 40mm recorded at Broke and 31mm at Dora Creek.
BY IAN CROUCH
Two men are recovering in hospital after a serious crash at Salamander Bay.
Police say a Toyota Hi Ace van towing a trailer and a light rigid truck collided on Soldiers Point Road at about 1.00pm on Wednesday, trapping both drivers.
They were freed with the assistance of the Port Stephens SES and firefighters.
The van driver suffered head, pelvic and leg injuries, while the truck driver suffered head injuries and a fractured arm.
Both men were flown to the John Hunter Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Soldiers Point Road was closed for several hours as crash investigators examined the scene.
Investigations are continuing.
BY DAKOTA TAIT
Maitland residents are being warned to prepare for the possibility of minor flooding on Tuesday evening.
The Hunter River at the Belmore Bridge could reach 5.9m as rainfall continues.
Low-lying areas, roads, culverts, and causeways could be impacted by the rising water levels.
We're being reminded not to walk or drive through floodwaters.
BY DAKOTA TAIT
A joint Fire and Rescue NSW and SES in-water team has rescued two families in separate operations in the Hunter flood zones.
Strike Team Charlie One, made up of two FRNSW in-water experts and two SES technicians, arrived at an isolated farm at Millers Forest around 10am on Friday.
It's understood a mother and her two children, aged 11 months and three years, were unable to escape rising floodwaters on their Raymond Terrace Road property.
The rescue team negotiated its way through submerged fences in a powerboat to reach the family.
The in-water technicians waded out to the residents and fitted them with jackets before ferrying them to dry land, where paramedics were able to assess their conditions.
It comes after another rescue by the same team around 7pm on Thursday.
The crew used an all-terrain truck to travel across floodplains at Louth Park, near Maitland, to reach a father, his two teenage daughters and their two dogs, stranded on a property.
When the truck couldn't go any further, the team deployed flood boats to complete the journey, using floodlights to locate the isolated farmhouse.
The rescue technicians then paddled their way back out with the family and their pets on board.
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| The team rescue a family at Millers Forest. |
BY IAN CROUCH
The federal government has declared a natural disaster in the Cessnock Local Government Area as the flood emergency continues.
It's one of 23 local government areas in Sydney and NSW where the declaration has been made including the Central Coast.
The declaration clears the way for joint Commonwealth-State assistance to become available under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
It means immediate assistance is available to eligible residents whose home and belongings have been damaged by storms and floods since June 27.
Cessnock Council can also receive help with the cost of cleaning up and restoring damaged roads and essential public assets.
Small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations are eligible for concessional loans and freight subsidies.
Meanwhile,the SES says major flooding is likely at Bulga due to significant river rises along the Wollombi Brook.
Minor flooding is expected along the Lower Hunter River at Singleton and Maitland along with the Paterson River at Gostwick.
BY IAN CROUCH
The State Emergency Service says the Hunter is expecting more heavy rain and strong winds today (Monday 4 July 2022) as the East Coast Low off our coast continues to impact the region.
A Severe Weather Warning is out for Heavy Rainfall, and Hazardous Surf.
Moderate Flooding is possible for the Wollombi Brook at Bulga tonight while minor flooding is possible later this morning at the Belmore Bridge in Maitland and the Paterson River at Gostwick.
The SES has received 155 calls for help in the Northern Region overnight, with many of those in the Hunter, while volunteers performed 3 flood rescues at Allandale and Greta yesterday afternoon where people became trapped in their vehicles.
The Weather Bureau says Maitland Airport has recorded the most rainfall since 9 yesterday morning with 160 millimetres, and wind gusts reached 83 km/h at Nobbys just after midnight.
Several homes lost power around Newcastle and Lake Macquarie as the strong winds took hold, but Ausgrid says power has now been restored, however several areas on the Central Coast are still off the grid.
David Webber from the SES says they're bracing for more severe weather in the Hunter later today.
"That low system is predicted to move north-west into the Hunter area later this afternoon.There will still be impacts at the tail end of that with wind and rainfall as well. so, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, reverine impacts within that, and storm-related tasks with that wind as well," he said.
Buses are replacing trains between the Newcastle Interchange and Scone and Dungog in both directions due to flooding on the tracks at Sandgate.
The Golden Highway at Whittingham is closed at the New England Highway, and Wine Country Drive is closed between Tuckers Lane and McDonalds Road.
Beaches are also no-go areas, with wave heights expected in excess of 5 metres.
BY DAKOTA TAIT
A woman has been rescued at Singleton, after her car was struck by a tree and she was pinned in the vehicle.
A rescue pumper from Singleton Fire Station joined police, ambulance crews and SES personnel at the scene in John Street around 5.15pm on Monday afternoon.
It's believed the tree was felled by a wild storm which struck the area.
Emergency crews used a chainsaw to remove parts of the toppled tree to reach and free the driver.
The woman suffered a sore shoulder and cuts in the incident, and was transported to hospital for treatment to her injuries.
BY IAN CROUCH
The State Emergency Service has worked through the night attending to hundreds of calls for help across the Hunter following last night's brief but very powerful storm.
The weather bureau recorded wind gusts of up to 100 km/hr at Nobbys and around 120 km/hr in the Valley when the storm hit at about 6pm.
The strong winds brought down trees and power lines right across the region - in one case the aluminium roof of a home in Rees James Road at Raymond Terrace blew off just after 6.00pm, landing 20 metres away and bringing down power lines.
Police say thankfully no-one was hurt.
More than 12,000 homes remain without power across the region, with West Wallsend, Wallsend and Toronto the worst hit, where more than 4,700 customers are waiting to be reconnected.
Ausgrid says some of the repairs are complex and won't be complete until about 11.00am on Tuesday.
Sharon Fox from Ausgrid says crews have been kept busy with calls right across the region.
"We had 309 of our requests for assistance came in from our Northern Zone - 42 of those from the City of Newcastle, 41 from Cessnock, 33 in Maitland, 27 in Muswellbrook and 20 in Port Stephens," she said.
The SES says there are around 100 jobs outstanding in the Northern Zone stretching from the Central Coast to the Queensland border, with most of those in the Hunter region.
BY DAKOTA TAIT
The SES says it's rescued a number of people from a house in Belford last night, after flash flooding inundated areas along the New England Highway.
Volunteers from the Maitland and Singleton units attended the scene.
It's understood over a metre of floodwater impacted the house, after 100mm of rain was recorded in the area late Monday night.
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| Image credit: Hunter SES |
BY IAN CROUCH
The Hunter is bracing for the impact of an East Coast Low.
The SES says the weather system is likely to make landfall on Thursday morning bringing heavy rain, with parts of the region including Lake Macquarie expecting between 200 and 250 millimetres.
A Severe Weather Warning has been re-issued for heavy rainfall and damaging winds, with residents being warned to expect flash flooding.
Already in the past 24 hours, parts of Lake Macquarie have seen heavy rain, with Dora Creek recording 212 millimetres since 9.00am on Wednesday.
All Hunter beaches are closed with swells of up to 5 metres expected
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| The Hunter is bracing for East Coast Low |
BY IAN CROUCH
Volunteers from the Newcastle SES have carried out two flood rescues after a fierce electrical storm hit the region last night.
Homes and businesses at Elermore Vale, Wallsend, Maryland and Sandgate lost power shortly after the storm moved through at about 9.00pm.
Ausgrid says 19 customers in Gunsynd Crescent at Maryland and 13 on Maitland Road at Sandgate are still without power and are not expected back on the grid until later this morning or early this afternoon.
The SES responded to 30 calls for assistance mainly for roof damage and trees down.
The SES says the occupants of two vehicles had to be rescued after getting caught in flash flooding, with water up the doors.
In one instance Newcastle Fire Command says a crew from Carrington helped a woman to safety after she became trapped in her car on Industrial Drive at Tourle Street in Mayfield West at about 9.30pm
Tocal recorded the highest rainfall during the storm with 52 millimetres, while Waratah Reservoir recorded 43 and 42 millimetres fell at the Belmore Bridge.
BY DAKOTA TAIT
Port Stephens SES have responded to a head-on collision on Clarence Town Road at Seaham on Wednesday afternoon.
A team provided scene safety, vehicle stabilization, and patient support until ambulances arrived.
After the patients were extricated from the vehicles, SES members relocated one of the vehicles using the vehicle mounted winch, in order to clear the road.
We're being reminded to to take it easy and drive safely on wet roads.
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| Image credit: SES Port Stephens |
BY IAN CROUCH
A man has been rescued from a flooded causeway at Jerrys Plains in the Upper Hunter .
Police, SES and Fire and Rescue crews were called to the causeway on Edderton Road just after midnight on Thursday to find the 26-year-old man from Aberdeen perched on the bonnet of his 4 week drive, with fast-flowing floodwater up to the windows of the vehicle.
He was thrown a life jacket and pulled to safety.
The man told Police he'd only just driven across the causeway without any difficulty, before returning 10 minutes later and getting stuck.
The 4-wheel-drive is still in the flooded causeway and will be retrieved once the water level subsides.
MODERATE FLOODING IS OCCURRING AT MUSWELLBROOK AND DENMAN
MAJOR FLOODING POSSIBLE AT SINGLETON SATURDAY NIGHT
MODERATE FLOODING POSSIBLE AT MAITLAND SUNDAY.
There is currently moderate flooding at Muswellbrook, where river levels peaked at 9.90 metres around midnight Friday, just below the major flood level. The main flood peak is now approaching Denman where river levels are expected to peak this morning, with moderate flooding.
Flood waters from the Upper Hunter will combine with large inflows from the Goulburn River and Wybong Creek. These flood flows are expected to cause moderate and possibly major flooding to develop at Singleton during Saturday afternoon into Sunday. Moderate flooding is possible at Maitland on Sunday.
Moderate flooding is occurring at Muswellbrook and Denman. River levels along the Kingdon Ponds and Hunter River at Aberdeen have fallen below minor flood levels.
The Hunter River at Muswellbrook peaked at 9.90 metres around midnight Friday into Saturday and is currently at 8.63 metres and falling, with moderate flooding.
The Hunter River at Denman is expected to peak near 8.90 metres around 09:00 am Saturday, with moderate flooding.
Moderate and possibly Major flooding is expected at Singleton. Moderate flooding is possible at Maitland.
The Hunter River at Singleton is expected to exceed the minor flood level (10.00 m) around midday Saturday. The river level is likely to exceed the moderate flood level (11.50 m) early Saturday evening and may reach the major flood level (13.00 m) overnight Saturday into Sunday. Further rises possible.
Here is the latest advice from the Bureau of Meteorology:
The Hunter River at Maitland (Belmore Bridge) is expected to exceed the minor flood level (5.90 m) around 11:00 am Saturday morning on the high tide. The river level may reach the moderate flood level (8.90 m) overnight Sunday into Monday. Further rises possible.
In life threatening emergencies, call 000 (triple zero) immediately. If you require rescue, assistance to evacuate or other emergency help, ring NSW SES on 132 500.
For more emergency information, advice, and access to the latest river heights and rainfall observations and forecasts:
* NSW SES: www.ses.nsw.gov.au
* RMS Live Traffic: www.livetraffic.com
* Latest River Heights and Rainfall Observations: www.bom.gov.au/nsw/flood/midnorth.shtml
* Latest NSW Warnings: www.bom.gov.au/nsw/warnings/
* Rainfall Forecasts: www.bom.gov.au/australia/meteye/
* BOM NSW Twitter: www.twitter.com/BOM_NSW
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| Moderate to Major Flooding Expected For Hunter River Picture: SES |