Wild Storms Lash The Hunter And Mid North Coast

BY IAN CROUCH

Volunteers from the State Emergency Service have been kept on their toes across the Hunter as wild storms lashed the region late yesterday and overnight.

Around a 1500 homes in Anna Bay and Raymond Terrace lost power at the height of the storm which caused localised flash flooding.

Glendale recorded 35 millimetres of rain in just 30 minutes.

Phil Campbell from the SES says hail stones the size of golf balls were reported in some areas.

"We've had state-wide some 224 calls for emergency help - many of those have been in the Hunter, in particular around the Maitland and Lake Macquarie areas and up around the lower parts of the mid north coast, particularly around Coopernook," he said.

SES "WOW" Day

BY RACHEL STORER

Today is "Wear Orange Wednesday" (WOW Day) and the SES is asking people of the Hunter to wear orange to work or school in support of volunteers.

The 40,000 State Emergency Service volunteers have just faced their busiest 12 months on record, seeing 46 declared disasters across Australia with NSW being the most affected with a 45% increase of incidents.

Volunteers dedicated 390,000 hours of their time to assist communities affected by disasters.

Becky Gollings from the NSW SES is calling for people to show their support and appreciation today.

"[Volunteers] don't do it for any awards, thanks or money but getting behind them and showing them that they are appreciated goes so far to boost their spirit and morale," she said.

The SES have developed the hashtag #thankyouses and encourage people to "snap a selfie" in their orange attire and post it to social media so volunteers can see the widespread support for their service.

SES Volunteers. Image: ses.nsw.gov.au

Search Resumes For Missing Horse Trainer

BY IAN CROUCH

 The search for missing horse trainer Bindi Cheers is set to resume today, focusing on bush around a Beresfield service station where she parked her truck with 4 horses on board on Sunday afternoon.

It's now emerged the 44-year-old was seen having a heated discussion with stewards at the Hawkesbury Race Club about the performance of one of her runners on Sunday prior to driving to Beresfield in a distressed state.


A large air and land search search around the Enterprise Drive service station yesterday failed to find any trace of her.

Searchers Look For Bindi Cheers Photo courtesy theherald.com.au

Wild Winds Hit The Hunter

BY IAN  CROUCH

 Last night's gale force winds have kept the State Emergency Service fairly busy across the Hunter.

They were called out to nearly 60 jobs - mainly fallen trees, damaged rooves and trampolines and fences which had blown away.

Wind gusts reached 91 kilometres per hour at Nobbys and Williamtown at about midnight.

A severe weather warning for damaging winds remains in place, however the Weather Bureau expects conditions to ease throughout today.

Hunter Region Dodges A Bullet

 BY IAN CROUCH

The Hunter has dodged a bullet from the East Coast Low over the weekend, although the State Emergency Service has been kept busy with dozens of calls.

Rainfall in some areas topped 300 millimetres and wind gusts reached around 100 kilometres per hour in isolated spots, but the region avoided the widespread devastation which marked last year's April Super Storm.

The Hunter Region SES attended to around 350 calls for help across the weekend mainly for leaking rooves, tree branches down and requests for sandbags.

Wet And Wild Weekend On The Way

BY IAN CROUCH

The Hunter is in for a drenching this weekend.

An East Coast Low is expected to bring heavy rainfall, with some areas to receive up to 300 millimetres.

The worst of the wild weather is expected on Sunday, with strong winds also forecast, but the weather bureau says it shouldn't be as bad as the April Super Storm last year, with the system expected to move through the region rather than stalling and unleashing all of it's energy on the Hunter.

The State Emergency Service says residents should prepare their homes and keep an eye out for any warnings issued.

The East Coast Low Which Hit The Hunter In April 2015 Image courtesy BOM

SES Weather

The State Emergency Service is being kept on its toes today with significant rainfall across the Hunter.

A minor flood warning has been issued by the Weather Bureau for Lake Macquarie, with more than 200mm of rain recorded at Cooranbong and Blacksmiths.

There are reports of flash flooding around Swansea and Dora Creek.

The SES has received 63 calls for assistance, mainly related to localised flooding.

Anyone requiring emergency assistance may ring 132 500.