The Hunter is set to be announced as a natural disaster zone.
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NSW Premier Mike Baird says a natural disaster zone will be declared for areas including Dungog.
Local council areas to be included in the declaration would be determined in the next 24 hours.
It would enable financial support in terms of grants to flow to councils, businesses and families.
Bureau of Meteorology
Cloudy. Very high (90%) chance of showers, becoming less likely this afternoon and evening. The chance of a thunderstorm. Winds south to southwesterly 30 to 50 km/h. Large and powerful surf conditions are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, swimming and surfing.
There is a minor flood warning for the Lake Macquarie area.
Latest heights :
■ Belmont 0.85m and falling 11.45am.
■ Swansea Channel 0.69m and rising 9.45am
SES
NSW SES has received 7984 jobs and 90 flood rescues since Monday. Flood rescues include two people trapped in floodwater at Swansea and a evacuation of people at Blackalls Park. So far the City of Lake Macquarie has received 777 calls for assistance and the City of Newcastle has received 722 through the SES call centre.
Ausgrid
About 200,000 customers remain without power across the network as storms continue to batter parts of the Hunter. Overnight Ausgrid crews have made progress getting power back to Maryland and Fletcher.
Hunter Water
Parts of western Lake Macquarie are still without water or running low. Parts of Gateshead and Caves Beach are also without water or are suffering from low water pressure. Hunter Water is working to restore water to these areas as quickly as possible.
Newcastle council
Waste collection starts from today and will be a day behind. Newcastle Museum and art gallery are open. Newcastle City Library and Stockton Library are open; all other libraries are closed. Beresfield Child Care Centre is closed. All Newcastle Council sports grounds are closed until Sunday, April 26.
Lake Macquarie council
A number of roads are still closed in Lake Macquarie including Myall Road, Cardiff; George Booth Drive, Seahampton; and Rhonda Road, Teralba.
Lake Macquarie peaked near 1.0 metres early this morning and is now falling slowly, with minor flooding.
Kerbiside waste collections that were due to take place on Tuesday are taking place today, Wednesday’s bins on Thursday, Thursday’s bins on Friday and Friday’s bins on Saturday.