IT was a soaking end to the first week of April and despite heavy rainfall predictions the Hunter remained largely unscathed from severe flooding.
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The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) responded to 681 calls for help from across the Hunter and Upper Hunter from Thursday, April 4 to Saturday, April 6.
Spokesperson John Thirkell said there were 29 outstanding jobs on Sunday and a number of flood alert advice warnings had been finalised over the weekend.
"Most of those jobs were for leaking roofs, fallen trees and sandbagging for flash flooding," he said.
The Central Coast was hardest hit, Mr Thirkell said with 500 call outs between Thursday and Friday for the Wyong and Gosford units.
Fifteen Cessnock SES Unit volunteers clocked up 243 volunteer hours in the period from Thursday to Saturday.
Fortunately, the sun is back out and drying things up again.
"Thankfully we didn't see the rainfall that was predicted by the BOM, which is excellent," he said.
"Our rivers didn't quite get to the heights that were predicted to those warnings."
Flood warnings were issued for areas on the banks of the Hunter, Paterson and Williams rivers but forecasters with the Bureau of Meteorology said rising waters were expected to stay below the minor flood level.
The Paterson and Williams catchments recorded 60 millimetres of rain before the weather began to ease early Saturday morning. Residents at Dungog, Clarence Town, Paterson, Martins Creek, Woodville, Wallalong and Vacy have been told to monitor conditions as the Williams, Allyn and Paterson rivers rose overnight but not above the minor flood level.
The observation station at Nobbys recorded 77mm of rain in the city after sustained falls through the night, easing from about 5am.
The Wollombi Brook at Bulga had risen to 0.75 metres and was holding steady below the minor flood level just before 6am and the Hunter River at Maitland was measured at 0.14 metres and falling at the same time.
A trough extending along the east coast had a chance of deepening to form a low pressure system early on Saturday morning with the sun making an appearance.
This week strong southerly winds are forecast to develop as a cold front crosses the region and a low develops over the Tasman Sea.
Mr Thirkell thanked the community on behalf of the SES for remaining vigilant and listening to alerts.
"We are always asking our residents to be prepared and alert during times of severe weather. Thank you for listening to our warnings, acting early and being prepared," he said.
The storm season ended on March 31 and Mr Thirkell said the SES was investigating what this wet season may bring.
Alanna Tomazin
Alanna is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald with a focus on education. She takes pride in regional journalism which she believes is crucial to informing our towns and cities. Have a story? Email her at alanna.tomazin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Alanna is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald with a focus on education. She takes pride in regional journalism which she believes is crucial to informing our towns and cities. Have a story? Email her at alanna.tomazin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Simon McCarthy
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
