CLEAN-UP: SES volunteers attend a house call-out last week.
MEMORIES of the 2007 Pasha Bulka storm swirled through Newcastle last week as SES volunteers prepared for more bad weather to strike the region.
A slow-moving low-pressure system crept down the coast, with the Bureau of Meteorology issuing warnings of heavy rain, wild winds and menacing seas.
Nobbys recorded winds of up to 76km/h last Monday January 28, while a backyard rain gauge at Tingira Heights recorded 114 millimetres of rain, compared with readings of 87 millimetres at Newcastle University.
SES spokesman Garry Luxton said volunteers trained for swift water rescue were on standby in Newcastle and Dungog.
Other SES volunteers were called out to help with fallen trees at Tingira Heights, Belmont North, Kotara and New Lambton.
Mr Luxton said many drains struggled to cope with the water, with roads in Cardiff, Belmont, Kotara, Broadmeadow, New Lambton and Mayfield submerged with large volumes of rain.
More than 120 calls for help were received from Newcastle and Lake Macquarie residents during the storm.
"Many local residents had problems in their homes - ranging from leaking roofs, to blocked drains and gutters," Mr Luxton said.
"Several calls also involved fallen trees onto homes, trees on cars and trees on power lines."
The SES crews weren't busy as the Pasha Bulka storm weekend in 2007, when they had more than 6000 call-outs across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.
Across that June long weekend, storm force winds in Newcastle averaged 93km/h and gusted to 135km/h, while 164.6mm of rain fell in a six-hour period.