Tuesday 27 May 2025

Be prepared - gale winds. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a gale warning for the Hunter Coast (which the Central Coast is a part of) until midnight Wednesday 28 May 2025: http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/warnings/marinewind.shtml  
(Issued 11:32am 27 May 2025)

For information on how to prepare, follow NSW SES advice here: https://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-prepare/storm

Monday 26 May 2025

During severe weather and into recovery, Council aims to provide and share vital information and advice with the community about Council services, facilities and managed spaces, and where to find information from lead agencies and authorities. 

Current warnings and advice for the Central Coast 

• The NSW State Emergency Services (NSW SES) current warnings:   ses.nsw.gov.au
  View real-time warnings from the NSW SES for flood and severe weather by downloading the Hazards Near Me App and setting your watch zones.
• The Bureau of Meteorology current NSW warnings:  bom.gov.au/nsw/warnings 
  For all BOM weather and marine warnings, forecasts, rainfall and river heights go to bom.gov.au; download The BOM Weather App and follow on Facebook.
• For emergency assistance during storms or flooding, call NSW SES on 132 500.  If life-threatening, call 000 (Triple Zero).
• Sandbags - NSW SES have self-help sandbags available for collection at Erina (Pateman Rd) and Wyong (Levitt St) NSW SES depots.
• Evacuation centre information - A local evacuation centre has been set up at Diggers The Entrance (315 The Entrance Road, Long Jetty) (as at 23 May 2025). Go to ses.nsw.gov.au to view all open Evacuation Centres, information on what to do if you are told to evacuate, and about domestic animals and livestock during evacuations. 

Be safe and informed during flood clean-up

• Stay safe – Wear protective gear such as boots, gloves, and protective clothing. Be cautious of contaminants and structural damage.
• Cleaning up – Book a bulk kerbside collection at 1coast.com.au, find a waste facility or read more about kerbside bin collection and storm debris disposal further below.
• Insurance – If you are insured, before cleaning up, take photos or video of damage to your property and possessions as evidence for your claim. If you are uninsured, support may be available to you - Call Service NSW on 13 77 88 or visit NSW Government. The Insurance Council of Australia can be contacted for guidance on 1800 734 621 or Insurance Council of Australia
• Emotional support – Call NSW Mental Health Line on 1800 011 511 or visit NSW Government Mental Health Line.
• Learn more about flood and disaster relief clean up and recovery page.
   

Waste

Kerbside bin collections:  

• Weekly kerbside bin collections are continuing as normal. For properties on roads currently closed to vehicles, services will resume once access is restored. Please leave your bins on the kerbside (if safe to do so) until they’re collected.

Storm debris disposal:  

• If you need to clear debris from your property, book a bulk kerbside collection Alternatively, take bulk waste to one of Council’s two waste management facilities (details on page below).
• The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has waived the waste levy for storm-affected residents on the Central Coast for the next three months. This applies to storm related mixed waste sent to landfill only.  Note: Green organics are not subject to the levy and fees remain unchanged.
• Please provide your name and the source address of the waste (via drivers licence or rates notice) when disposing of materials.

Roads and transport

• We continue to actively monitor roads for impacts and respond to landslips, clearing fallen trees and repairing potholes to address damage as quickly as possible.
• For information on road closures and impacts to traffic visit www.livetraffic.com, call 132 701 or download the Live Traffic App. To view Council’s road closures
• Report urgent road issues, damage or safety concerns by calling 4306 7900. Non-urgent enquiries or reports: via our online Customer Service Centre
• Conditions and road closure status can change rapidly during severe weather and events with little notice, so updates are provided as soon as practical.
• Avoid being on the roads during severe weather. If you need to drive anywhere, please plan extra travel time, take extra care.   
• Never walk, ride or drive through flood waters – it is dangerous, toxic, and may void your car insurance. If it's flooded, forget it. Fines may apply.  

Tuggerah Lakes and Coastal Lagoons

• Tuggerah Lakes and The Entrance Channel - The Entrance channel remains wide open with water exiting the system (as at 11.56am, Fri 23 May).  
• Lagoons - Council intervenes to open our coastal lagoons (Wamberal, Terrigal, Avoca and Cockrone) when their water levels reach their own trigger level. View current water levels and trigger levels.

For more information on Council’s management of waterways head to our Estuaries, Lagoons and Wetlands page here.  

Understand how you may be impacted by rising water levels - Use our interactive online flood mapping tool to see potential flood impacts to your land, street and area based on various river or lake heights.  This visual map can help you visual possible flooding so you can prepare and plan ahead to protect you, your family and property. View current river height data for the Central Coast and follow our guide to use our online flood mapping tool.  If you are at risk of flooding, consider moving valuable items to higher ground and relocating vehicles to safer areas before water levels rise. Stay informed on the latest warnings and advice and what to do before and during a flood (see links under the 'stay informed heading' above).

Beaches and coastal erosion

Crews are monitoring erosion at vulnerable locations across the Coast. Where there is coastal erosion, it’s important to keep personal safety front-of-mind and the advice is to:  

• Avoid areas impacted by coastal erosion, sand loss or water damage.  
• Stay away from beach escarpments, and do not intentionally collapse eroded beach escarpments – this is both dangerous and could cause further risk to properties in the immediate area.  

Waterway pollution alerts

• Heavy rain and flooding can cause stormwater run-off and sewage overflows to pollute our lagoons, waterways, rivers, lakes and beaches.
• Pollution alerts are currently in place for a number of Central Coast beaches, head to the Beachwatch website for daily pollution forecasts.
• After heavy rain avoid swimming in the ocean for 24 hours, and swimming in rivers, lagoons, and estuaries for at least three days.
• If you come in contact with waterways and feel unwell, please seek medical advice from a doctor or hospital or call Triple Zero (000) in an emergency.

Water and sewer services

(updated 24 May 2025) 

• Multiple Sewer Discharges continue to impact various locations across the Council region due to the high volumes of water entering sewers during and following heavy rainfall.  Pollution warning signs have been placed in public spaces near affected sites, and water quality monitoring is underway and will continue, until bacterial levels return to normal.
• NSW Health’s website advises after heavy rain to avoid swimming in the ocean for 24 hours, and swimming in rivers, lagoons, and estuaries for at least three days.
• An extensive water quality monitoring program has been implemented to determine when waters are suitable for recreational activity following the storms.
  Council crews are closely monitoring and will continue to update the community as required.
• Sewer overflows can occur due to the high volumes of water entering sewers during and following heavy rainfall. To report urgent water or sewer issues, contact Council by phoning 02 4306 7900. For water service interruptions go here.

Power outages

• For updates on power outages across the Coast visit the Ausgrid website or call 13 13 88 for assistance.

Disaster assistance

• Have you been affected by the recent severe weather? Help is available.
• A natural disaster declaration and disaster assistance was recently announced by the NSW Government for 16 Local Government Areas, including the Central Coast.  

For more information on support that is available for individuals and households, businesses and primary producers, not-for-profits and community organisations

Keep up to date with available recovery assistance and wellbeing support for areas impacted by floods and storms.

• Keep photographic evidence of property damage
  Photographic evidence serves as a valuable tool during the application process for potential insurance claims and financial assistance. 
  
  Before you start cleaning up, take photos of the damage. Capturing detailed images can strengthen your case as it provides clear visual depiction of the extent of damage sustained by your home or personal belongings. Find out how to demonstrate damage.

Health and safety

Find out more on how you can stay safe and well during floods and wet weather: https://health.nsw.gov.au/floods