Business owner and Wallsend Town Mainstreet Committee vice president Max McCorkell said he was concerned the community would not know what to do in a flood.

In the June 2007 storm, water levels reached one and a half metres in Wallsend’s main street, Nelson Street.

They caused thousands of dollars of damage to businesses and residential properties.

In response, Newcastle City Council produced a Flood Plain Risk Management Plan and Study for the Wallsend commercial centre.

To date, council has also installed 13 flood depth indicators in Wallsend.

The flood depth indicators show the depth of the water from the road level.

The indicators are on Nelson, Tyrell, Council, Kokera, Cowper and Boscowen streets.

Council also installed water measurement gauges at Styx and Ironbark creeks and Wallsend Bowling Club.

The water measurement gauges record rainfall and the information is automatically sent to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Mr McCorkell said the flood emergency warning system was not good enough.

“We (Wallsend Town Mainstreet Committee) had a meeting two weeks ago with representatives from State Emergency Service, State Government and a council, where we were advised by the State Emergency Service representative that we did not have a proper emergency warning system in Wallsend,” Mr McCorkell said.

Mr McCorkell said this took him by surprise.

“We thought we had a system where when the water gauge reached a dangerous level of water, it automatically alerted council and the State Emergency Service,” he said.

“But the water reading goes to the Bureau of Meteorology in Sydney where it used for data reporting.

“It doesn’t alert anyone here about the reading.”

A council spokesperson said the measurement stations provided real-time data to the Bureau of Meteorology to assist with its responsibility for advising the State Emergency Service and media of all possible flash flood events.