Volunteers continue storm clean-up effort

NSW SES Incident Controller Amanda Williamson said a targeted approach was now needed to get the job done.

“The Hunter region has received over 7760 calls for assistance during this storm event," Ms. Williamson said.

"Our volunteers have completed over three-quarters of those.

"This weekend we’re taking a very deliberate approach to finalising outstanding jobs for the Hunter community – we’re centralising all our volunteers into one taskforce to complete jobs within specific geographic areas, getting the jobs done, and then moving onto the next area.

“It’s a big push to get these outstanding requests attended to and get our volunteers, who’ve done an amazing job so far, back safely to their home locations.

"We can’t thank them enough, and we can’t thank the community enough for their patience, resilience and assistance during these storms.”

Volunteers have worked tirelessly since April 20 when the storms began.

In Cessnock, 342 calls for assistance were lodged and due a combined approach by the SES, Rural Fire Service and NSW Fire and Rescue personnel and the Volunteer Rescue Association, 306 of those were completed by Friday.

Unfortunately, a group of visiting SES volunteers were the victims of theft at Lovedale on Thursday (read more here).

While volunteers keep up their hard work rendering assistance, the SES continues to advise people in the Hunter Region to be prepared for the severe weather and the Flood Watch currently in place.

“We’re still experiencing severe weather in the Hunter region and we could be looking at minor to moderate flooding in the Paterson and Williams River Valleys," Ms. Williamson said.

"We want people to be prepared, and to please remember to never drive, ride or walk through floodwaters. The risk is just too great."

To find out how you can prepare for storms and floods, go to www.ses.nsw.gov.au.