Up to 13,600 homes throughout the region, including Bulahdelah, Pacific Palms, Blueys Beach and Elizabeth Beach had been affected. Yesterday it was not known how long the outage would last. 

“Major damage was sustained including large numbers of wires down and large trees over lines,” an Essential Energy spokesperson said.  

“Flood waters are causing access issues with some areas completely cut off to trucks and equipment.”

The spokesperson said yesterday that extra crew and resources had been called in to assist with repairs but the company anticipated that restoration to power would be slow due to major damage and difficulties accessing some areas.  

Essential Energy crews carried out helicopter patrols of powerlines damaged by the storm in the lower Mid North Coast and Hunter areas yesterday. 

The spokesperson said by doing so crews could better assess the damage to the network, specifically in areas that were not accessible due to flood waters. 

Crews patrolled in Bulahdelah and followed the high voltage powerlines to Booral, Stroud and Pacific Palms.

Crews also carried out repairs to the network in Bulahdelah, Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest.

“Access to many other areas where lines are down is still unavailable due to flood waters and vegetation over access roads,” the spokesperson said yesterday.  

Essential Energy was hopeful of having the power restored to the Bulahdelah area by mid afternoon yesterday but asked people to be prepared for the possibility of more power outages.