The State Emergency Service has had another busy night in the Hunter and Central Coast, with damaging winds causing calls for help to continue to roll in.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
There were 279 requests to the emergency agency for assistance across the region between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning - with a total of 522 jobs since the damaging winds began on Monday evening.
In the 24 hours to Wednesday morning, the SES was called to 60 jobs at Cessnock, 53 at Newcastle, 51 in the Lake Macquarie area and 49 at Maitland.
SES spokesperson Mandy Haigh said there had been a steady flow of calls through Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning - mostly for fallen trees and branches as well as roof damage.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast westerly winds up to 55km/h for the Hunter on Wednesday, following run of wild weather than swept into the region on Monday evening.
A damaging wind warning remains in place for the region.
The weather bureau recorded gusts of 63km/h at Nobbys overnight, 56km/h at Murrurundi Gap and 54km/h at Williamtown and Tocal - just outside Maitland.
Police on Tuesday night were recommending that people stay away from the Barrington Tops area until the weather improves, as fallen trees were blocking roads.
More than 100 premises remained without power across the region as of 7.30am, with Ausgrid continuing to restore service following a large job load involving thousands of properties on Tuesday.
According to the latest figures at the time of publication, 128 properties were blacked-out at Cessnock, 67 at Salt Ash, while Seaham, Lovedale, Sawyer's Gully, Jesmond and Hamilton each had fewer than 30 premises without electricity.
The SES said Gloucester Shire residents were having ongoing telecommunications problems because of the weather, after a tower was damaged.
Essential Energy is working to fix the issue, which is affecting landline and mobile services - and could be making it difficult for people to contact Triple Zero or the SES.
"As a contingency, a NSW SES volunteer has been stationed at Gloucester Police Station to assist with any requests for assistance that cannot be communicated via telephone. This arrangement will continue until telecommunications are restored," the SES said in a statement.
"Any member of the public that requires assistance from emergency services is asked to attend Gloucester Police Station: 8 Church Street, Gloucester, and speak with emergency crews at the station.
"If you require assistance from NSW Ambulance, please attend the emergency department at Gloucester Soldiers Memorial Hospital (also located on Church Street).
"We will endeavour to provide a further update as soon as power and telecommunications are restored."
WHILE YOU'RE WITH US:
Did you know? Manning River Times online subscribers not only have 24/7 access to local and national news, sport, what's on and entertainment - they also have access to our print editions in digital format, with all the advertisements and classifieds at their fingertips.
