Severe weather continues to impact the Central Coast causing heavy rainfall, localised flooding, dangerous ocean conditions and increased flooding overnight with many residents in low lying areas requiring evacuation.

Council continues to work alongside all local emergency agencies with the Emergency Operations Centre activated, with NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES) leading the response.

Thank you to all of the many volunteers with local SES, RFS and other support services that are providing invaluable assistance to keep our community safe – they have been in the conditions at all hours rescuing, door knocking, removing dangerous items and providing resources to isolated community members.

Council staff are working around the clock to closely monitor local roads, waterways, beaches, water and sewer systems, and other essential services with crews attending to any impacts.

Community members are still being urged to remain vigilant, exercise extra caution on roads, and are reminded to never enter or drive through flood waters.

For the latest weather warnings and conditions go to the Bureau of Meteorology website. 

For emergency help in floods and storms, call NSW SES on 132 500. If life-threatening, call 000 (Triple Zero).

Key updates 

More information is listed on Council’s dedicated weather event page
 

Waterways
Flood evacuation warnings issued from NSW State Emergency Service remain in place for:

• Low-lying areas of the Tuggerah Lakes Estuary
• Lower Hawkesbury River

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has confirmed major flooding is occurring at the Tuggerah Lakes, where water levels are above the major flood level of 1.60 metres and currently (3:30 PM 6 July 2022) at 1.67m - the same level reached in 2020.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has confirmed major flooding has peaked at Wisemans Ferry at 5.7m. It is now at 5.5m. Flood levels will continue to rise at Gunderman and Spencer at levels higher than the recent March 2022 flood. This flood appears to be the largest in the lower Hawkesbury River in the last 100 years.

Debris and large items are in flood waters and rivers and traveling through to beach foreshores, specifically in the south at Patonga and Umina. Council crews will continue to monitor and collect materials.

More information on waterways including the status of The Entrance, lagoons and beach erosion is on Council’s website

Evacuation Centres

• If possible, stay with family and friends or go to the Evacuation Centre set up at Diggers at The Entrance (315 The Entrance Rd, Long Jetty).
• Residents from evacuated areas can bring domestic animals with them if they are unable to be accommodated elsewhere. People must remain with their animals.
• Evacuation centres will provide accommodation assistance and support.
• If you are currently in self-isolation due to COVID-19, contact the Public Health Unit on 1300 066 055 before leaving your location, where possible

Road closures

• Many of our local roads are still closed due to water inundation and we encourage our residents and visitors to stay up to date with the latest closures before travelling on roads.
• Most importantly we ask people to avoid impacted roads as significant flash flooding is occurring. Please follow all signage and never enter or drive through flood waters or through closed roads. Driving through even shallow flood waters can cause water to inundate flooded properties creating further damage for residents in flood affected areas.
• There are trees across roads and landslips occurring which Council is responding to. In some areas, crews need to wait until water recedes to assess the damage and undertake work.
• Please watch out for new potholes. Crews are undertaking temporary repair works and attending to the roads in priority order for safety (high traffic, high speed roads). Take extra caution and please continue to report to Council and road issues (via Council’s online Customer Service Centre).

For information about road closures search ‘road closures’ at Council's website (centralcoast.nsw.gov.au) and follow Council’s Facebook page for regular updates. For road and traffic updates visit Live Traffic NSW www.livetraffic.com. Please note Live Traffic is linking to Council’s road closure information.

Local Dam Levels

• Upper Mooney Dam remains at full capacity. The volume of overflow from Upper and Lower Mooney Dams is reducing and the alert level has reduced from Amber to White.
• Mangrove Creek Dam has also reached full capacity at 100% and is spilling over the spillway. This is the first time since construction was completed in 1982. This storage increase places the Central Coast water supply in a secure position for years to come. Council is mindful that the overflow from Mangrove Creek will contribute to the existing flooding in Mangrove Creek although it’s small in comparison to existing catchment flows. The Dubbo Gully Area of Mangrove Creek is closed to the public due to flood risk and access track damage. Council continues to monitor the situation and is providing advice to these communities as required.
• Mardi Dam is at 84.5% full and is being monitored.

Waste collection

• Council’s waste collection services continue as normal including bulk kerbside collections, public litter bins and household bins. Woy Woy and Buttonderry Waste Management Facilities remain operational and are open as per normal opening hours.
• For properties located on sections of road currently closed to vehicles, kerbside services will resume as soon as the roads re-open. Residents should keep their bins on the kerbside (if safe to do so) until they are collected.

Public toilet closures

With the inundation of flood waters across the Central Coast, several public toilets have been closed. The following public toilet locations are closed:

• Gladstan Avenue toilets, Long Jetty
• Archbold Street toilets, Long Jetty
• Apex Park, Wyong
• Blue Bell Park, Berkeley Vale
• Woodbury Inn toilets, Mardi
• Budgewoi Sailing Club toilets
• Osbourne Park. Toukley
• Lucinda Ave toilets, Killarney Vale

Once flood waters recede, Council will clean all toilet buildings before re-opening to the community.

Stay safe, informed and vigilant

• Council is encouraging the community to please stay informed of the evolving situation, look out for neighbours and remain vigilant.
• More information on impacts to Council services and managed spaces is on Council’s website and Facebook page
• For emergency status, alerts and warnings refer to the NSW SES website or NSW SES Facebook page
• Keep up to date with weather warnings and conditions on the Bureau of Meteorology website
• Keep an eye on Emergency updates and more advice on how to prepare for storms on Council’s Disaster Dashboard

ENDS