February 2 to 4, 1990: ALTHOUGH more than 50 people were evacuated from their homes, the Manning district emerged relatively unscathed from its biggest flood since 1978.

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With the river peaking at 4.7 metres in Taree and 12.9 at Wingham on Sunday the river fell short of the predicted levels of 5 metres and 15 metres respectively.

Wingham was virtually an island from about 11.30am to 9.30pm on Sunday when major bridges went under water.

Cyclone Nancy dumped a three day deluge on the area with some areas receiving more than 250 millimetres of rain.

SES controller Geoff Pooley said the service received more than 670 calls throughout the weekend. The SES had 43 volunteers in the field with most of the activity taking place at 3am on Sunday.

Dale Haberfield and Ron Badger were on deck to cover the drama photographically for the Times.