There were hundreds of calls for help, flash floods, houses damaged by fallen trees and power outages as a massive storm rolled across the Hunter on Wednesday evening.
But it could have been far worse, according to the NSW State Emergency Service (SES).
"To tell the truth, we really dodged a bullet with this one," SES northern zone commander Andrew Cribb said.
"The rain squalls came through really intensely but in a short duration, because the storm cell was moving so quickly."
Areas in the Upper Hunter received up to 50mm in just a few hours. The local SES fielded almost 200 calls for help, with Cessnock, Lake Macquarie and Wyong hit the hardest.
Strong winds and falling branches were the most common issue, damaging roofs and pergolas, but no injuries were reported.
Falling branches also took out multiple power lines, causing extensive blackouts through the whole Lower Hunter and Central Coast. Hundreds remained without power following the storm, particularly in Cessnock, Lake Macquarie and the Central Coast, but Ausgrid moved quickly to repair damaged lines.
Several areas were impacted by flash flooding, as gutters overflowed and the banks' of high-tide creeks burst. However, there was little damage, as the locations were well-known flood zones and the SES had prepared properties with sandbags.
Mr Cribb thanked the community for playing it safe and not driving through flood waters.
"We had no flood rescues for this event, which means the public is doing the right thing," he said.
Although there will be showers over the next week, no further storms are predicted and the region is expected to return to dry conditions in the second week of December for the region.
Across the state, rainfall figures were recorded in the 200mm-plus range, causing localised flooding in a number of communities, closed roads, trees down and flood rescues.
The NSW SES responded to more than 1300 incidents since the start of the weather event, including 13 flood rescues. The majority have been in the South Coast, with more than 650 incidents.
"While the rain has eased there is still a risk of further rainfall bringing with it the risk of renewed river rises," a statement from NSW SES said.
"NSW SES are still active on a number of jobs in the wee hours of this morning and will be back on deck to continue to help their communities."
If you need the assistance of the NSW SES, call us on 132 500 and if it is a life threatening emergency, always call 000.
