Residents of a Stockton aged care home that had to be evacuated after Monday night's storm could be in temporary accommodation until the new year.
A roof at Wescott Presbyterian Aged Care on Fullerton Street was severely damaged in the wild weather, causing 30 residents to be evacuated from the affected area.
There were no reports of injuries to any residents, staff or other people.
It was the second time in less than 16 months the home suffered extensive storm damage, after about 300 square metres of roofing was peeled off by severe winds in August 2019.
On Tuesday, 23 residents were moved into temporary accommodation at HammondCare Waratah, while other affected residents were able to remain on-site.
Presbyterian Aged Care CEO Paul Sadler said it was not yet known how long the repairs would take, but anticipated it would be longer than the two months it took to fix the roof last year.
"The August 2019 storm was wind only," he said.
"This was a thunderstorm - we had a lot more internal damage from water.
"We're looking into the new year clearly with that amount of damage."
But Mr Sadler said he was hopeful some residents will be able to move back sooner with a 12-bed wing currently being refurbished at the site.
He said the refurbishment was due to be completed in three to four weeks, but the area would need to be assessed to see how much damage it suffered in Monday's storm.
"We will not know that until next week," he said.
Other relocated residents may also be able to be moved back into other vacant rooms at the home.
But Mr Sadler said HammondCare had agreed to home the residents for as long as it takes. The Waratah home also provided accommodation for affected Stockton residents in August 2019.
They are being cared for by Presbyterian Aged Care staff who are familiar to them.
Meanwhile, the cleanup from Monday's savage storm continued on Wednesday and will carry through for a fourth day on Thursday.
State Emergency Service crews from the Mid North Coast were brought in to help get through 590 jobs that were received across the Hunter, including 400 that occurred in Newcastle.
SES spokesperson Alex Varley said there were still 77 jobs outstanding at 4pm yesterday, down from 180 at the start of the day.
"They're getting through them," she said. "They'll be back out again on Thursday, but there won't be as many to do."
More than 14 teams from Hunter, Central Coast and Mid North Coast units are working through the tasks with assistance from local Fire and Rescue and RFS crews.
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