Cessnock City SES receives 232 callouts in first two weeks of July 2022

But with disaster-declared floods in March and July, 2022 it has not been an average year.

The unit has already attended 603 jobs this year, including 232 in the first two weeks of July, with volunteers flying in from all over the country to help.

Cessnock City Unit commander Jenny Ehmsen said it has been a "mammoth effort" from everyone involved.

The unit received 232 requests for assistance in the first fortnight of the month, including more than 80 in one day at the height of the rain on Tuesday, July 5.

These callouts included 12 flood rescues, 12 evacuations and 19 calls for resupplies in isolated communities, along with the usual storm and sandbagging jobs.

Many of the evacuations and resupplies completed by air using helicopters from the operational airbase that was established at Cessnock Airport.

Twenty members of the Cessnock City Unit were active on operations during this period, assisted by crews from Camden Haven on the Mid-North Coast, and interstate crews from Victoria, South Australia and Northern Territory.

Teams from the SES's Singleton and Maitland units helped with flood rescues and the Cessnock District Rescue Squad was also on hand.

Australian Defence Force and Rural Fire Service personnel assisted with the clean-up operations at Wollombi.

The volunteers worked for 12 days straight, before the operation shifted from the response phase to recovery.

"It's been a blur - it's certainly been a very, very busy two weeks," Ms Ehmsen said.

"For several of our members it was their first major event.

"And they were backing up until we got the interstate crews in.

"We had a lot of help from interstate crews, people from the Northern Territory, South Australia and Victoria, who dropped everything at a moment's notice.

"It was a really good effort from everybody."

And with more rain on the way this week, Ms Ehmsen said they'll be "ready for whatever the weather throws at us next".

The July flood was the second natural disaster in the Cessnock LGA this year, following the March weather event that saw the Cessnock City SES receive 78 callouts in a two-week period.

In the midst of the latest crisis, the unit had to postpone its open day (which was planned for July 9). A new date will be announced soon.

Anyone who is interested in joining the SES can find out more at ses.nsw.gov.au/get-involved.

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