1.30PM WEDNESDAY: GREAT Lakes Council has started to assess the damage caused by Tuesday's flash flooding in Stroud.
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Council said it would start assessing damage at the Stroud Showground and sporting precinct in coming days while other areas remained inaccessible because of floodwaters.
"At this stage flooding and limited communications services are preventing a complete assessment and we must wait for waters to recede and roads to be reopened before we can fully assess the damage that has been sustained," council's director of engineering Ron Hartley said.
"We are aware that damage has occurred to the Stroud Showground and the Stroud swimming pool, with most of the fencing lost as water moved very quickly through that area."
Mr Hartley said Jimmy's Beach in Tea Gardens was also badly affected by the storm.
"The other major damage that occurred has been the loss of most of the road surface of The Boulevarde at Jimmys Beach," he said.
"Jimmys Beach is one of the State's identified erosion hotspots and over past years has been the target of numerous plans to renourish the beach with sand to prevent erosion during significant storm events.
"Council is now seeking urgent talks with the NSW government to discuss what steps need to be taken at Jimmys Beach."
Essential Energy said power had been restored to customers in the Pacific Palms, Seal Rocks and Coomba Park areas this morning with power to be restored in the Markwell area by mid afternoon.
A total of 110 crew members and vegetation contractors are working throughout the area with helicopter patrols to continue during the afternoon in the Stroud, Dungog and Bulahdelah areas.
Large sections of powerline are down in the North Arm Cove area, the Tea Gardens area near The Rock and at Gresford with crews working in all locations to re-string lines and re-stand poles.
MidCoast Water said its sewerage treatment plants in Stroud and Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest were still without power.
All pump stations in Stroud have power and are operating, as is the water treatment plant.
Generators are being used in Tea Gardens to assist and pump trucks are still operating in the area.
Water supplies in all areas are unaffected and safe to use.
9AM WEDNESDAY: ESSENTIAL Energy says 9200 customers remain without power as crews continue restoration efforts today following the storm that rolled through the lower Mid North Coast and Hunter region on Monday night.
A low flying helicopter is currently flying over lines in the Tea Gardens area and will then make its way to Stroud and back over to Pacific Palms.
This bird's eye view of the network will assist in ensuring all damage to the network has been identified.
Extra resources have arrived in the area and are working alongside local teams to re-string wires and replace damaged equipment, however, restoration will be slow due to the extent of the damage.
"We are hopeful of restoring supply to a number of areas today including Tea Gardens and Pacific Palms yet this is dependent on what the helicopter locates during its patrols of the area - more detailed information will be provided later today," a spokeswoman said.
"Safety remains our number one priority and we ask customers to stay at least 8m away from powerlines and call us on 132 080 to report wires down."
Meanwhile, MidCoast Water said power had returned to most of its service area locations following floods and storms yesterday.
In Bulahdelah, power returned at 3am this morning and all sewer pump stations are now operating.
The sewage treatment plant remains without power. Residents are advised the water treatment plant is operating and the water supply is unaffected.
At Stroud, power has also returned and all sewer pump stations are operating. The sewage treatment plant is not yet operating, however, the water treatment plant is operating and the water supply is unaffected.
3PM: GLOUCESTER SES controller Bruce Sun said the unit rescued five people from floodwaters at Stroud Showground about 5.30am this morning.
Mr Sun said eight members of the Gloucester SES unit and a flood boat were called to Stroud about 4.30am this morning with reports Mill Creek was rising fast.
He said on arrival the unit, with assistance from local police and Dungog Fire and Rescue, pulled several people from floodwaters where they were clinging to a kiosk in the town showground while several others were rescued from a nearby grandstand.
Three houses near the showground were evacuated.
Mr Sun said between 12 and 15 houses in low-lying areas of Stroud had been inundated by the floodwaters.
"Residents were cleaning those up," he said.
"The water came up and receded very quickly. By 8am it had all dispersed."
Mr Sun said all people at the showground had been accounted for and there were no other reports of people missing in floodwaters.
He said the unit had not undertaken any sandbagging.
2.45PM: ESSENTIAL Energy says 12,000 customers remain without power in the lower Mid North Coast and Hunter areas following the extensive damage to the network from storms overnight.
Major damage has been reported on lines that feed power to Bulahdelah and surrounding areas including Gloucester, Dungog, Stroud, Vacy, Hawks Nest, Tea Gardens and Pacific Palms.
Large sections of powerline have been brought down by gale force winds and trees over lines, with crews on site in the Pacific Palms, Bulahdelah and Tea Gardens areas making repairs where possible.
Access remains the largest challenge with rising flood waters around Dungog and vegetation across roads and access tracks preventing entry to many areas.
Essential Energy is working closely with the SES to try and gain access to some areas and will continue to utilise helicopters to patrol lines and possibly fly resources and equipment in to some locations.
Extra resources are travelling to the area today to assist with repairs.
Despite crews working as quickly as safety will allow restoration will be slow due to the extensive damage.
It is expected that the majority of customers affected by outages will be without power overnight with some areas possibly without power until the end of the week.
Essential Energy will provide more detailed information for specific areas as repairs continue.
Safety remains Essential Energy's number one priority and customers are reminded to stay at least 8m away from fallen powerlines and call on 132 080 to report fallen lines.
2.30PM: THERE was some serious water moving down the Karuah River at Booral this morning.
Stroud Community Web shared some real time data from the NSW Water Info site that showed the Karuah River at Booral peaked early this morning at a massive 9.5m (normally less than 1m) with flows reaching around 100,000 megalitres, up from a base flow of less than 20 megalitres.
The Gloucester and Manning rivers remain on Flood Watch though the majority of the bad weather appears to be concentrated further to the south.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service has reported the river crossing at Bellevue (adjacent to Trevor Laurie's place) on the Gloucester Tops Rd is running at 1.4m.
While the all weather access road is available people are advised to avoid the Gloucester Tops area today.
In the past 24 hours Carey's Peak has received 100mm of rain and Mount Barrington 50mm.
2PM: A PUBLIC Information and Inquiry Centre has been activated to support the current severe weather response in NSW.
It is currently open and members of the public can contact the centre on 1800 227 228, regarding information on the flood and storm operation across NSW.
Additional information in relation to the flood and severe weather warnings can be viewed on www.emergency.nsw.gov.au
It should be noted that this inquiry hotline does not replace any emergency hotlines.
For emergency flood calls please call the State Emergency Service on 132 500.
1.30PM: MILL Creek reportedly rose so fast in Stroud overnight that campers at Stroud Showground had mere seconds to get to get high ground.
The Gloucester Advocate's Julie Farley, who lives at Stroud, said one local man coming home from night shift early this morning had stopped to warn the campers and had been forced to take refuge on the grandstand at the showground.
"The cricket nets ended up on his car," Mrs Farley said.
"The showground is ruined. The grandstand's moved on its foundations, the chook sheds are gone. The brick stalls in front of the toilet block have disappeared."
Houses to the north and south of the showground were also inundated by the flooding.
"It just went right through the houses," Mrs Farley said.
"There's a house to the south of the showground where a heap of kids live. They had to be rescued from their roof."
Mrs Farley said the floodwaters had receded and the Bucketts Way had reopened to traffic, but rain had again started to fall in the town.
10AM: Reports coming from ABC Radio that two people missing in Stroud this morning have been found, one of them injured.
ABC is reporting another person is also now missing in flooding in Stroud.
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter landed in Stroud a short time ago.
Floodwaters in Stroud appear to be receding. The water that cut the Bucketts Way near Stroud Showground has now mostly dispersed.
Traffic is advised to steer clear of the area.
The showground area and sporting precinct has suffered serious damage in the flooding.
9.30AM: ESSENTIAL Energy crews are assessing damage to the power network following storms that swept through the lower Mid North Coast and Hunter regions overnight.
A total of 13,600 customers are currently without power in the following towns and all surrounding areas: Vacy, parts of Dungog, Gloucester region, Bulahdelah and surrounding areas, Stroud, Clarence Town, Pacific Palms, Blueys Beach, Elizabeth Beach.
Major damage was sustained including large numbers of wires down and large trees over lines.
Flood waters are causing access issues with some areas completely cut off to trucks and equipment.
Extra resources are being called to the affected areas today to assist with repairs, however, we anticipate restoration to be slow with a large number of customers expected to be without power overnight.
Essential Energy reminds customers to keep safety front of mind. If you see fallen power lines keep at least 8m away and contact Essential Energy on 132 080 to report wires down.
9AM: THE SES says it is still searching for two missing people in floodwaters in Stroud.
Four people were rescued from the roof of a building near Stroud Showground this morning as floodwaters ripped through the area.
Another two people were still unaccounted for.
As much as 190mm of rain fell on the area overnight.
The Bucketts Way is cut at Stroud and traffic is urged to avoid the area with many local roads inundated.
Power outages have been reported as far north as Waukivory.
For emergency help in floods and storms, call theSES on 132 500.
Bureau of Meteorology weather forecasts and flood predictions including river height information are available at www.bom.gov.au