THERE were parks completely underwater, the tops of children's playgrounds poking out atop newly formed lakes, river banks bursting and drivers rescued from rising floodwaters.
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But the State Emergency Service said on Sunday afternoon that the Hunter had come through the weekend's deluge "reasonably unscathed", compared to areas to the South and on the Mid North Coast.
State Emergency Service spokesman David Rankin said volunteer crews had been called out to more than 440 jobs across the Hunter and Central Coast, with the vast majority for storm damage and a few flood rescues.
Mr Rankin said the majority of the flood rescues the SES had conducted were on the Mid North Coast, where rainfall records were being smashed and surging floodwaters had swept at least one house from its foundations and down the Manning River.
Things could have been just as dire at Paterson and Dungog, with the SES issuing an "emergency warning" on Saturday morning amid predictions the Williams River and Paterson River would peak at major flood warning levels. By Sunday morning, the SES had given Paterson and Dungog the "all clear", with only minor to moderate flooding as the water dropped below the relevant flood levels.
According to the SES, the Paterson River was at nearly 11m on Sunday morning, but was dropping throughout the day.
Visitors to Paterson's John Tucker Park, on the banks of the Paterson River, got a shock on Saturday afternoon when they arrived to find only the tops of the playground poking out from floodwaters.
Aleta Snow-Hoddle posted photographs on social media of the park one week apart, with the after photo showing just the very top of the slide.
According to Paterson local, Mick Shanley, the flooding in the park had dropped about 1.5 metres by Sunday and the flooding in the town had peaked about 2 metres lower than the 2015 watermark.
At Raymond Terrace, the Hunter River peaked at about 2.6 metres on Sunday but was falling as the day went on. Residents posted video showing a submerged rotunda in a park and surging floodwaters around Hunter and Glenelg streets.
Mr Rankin, of the SES, said the rainfall would continue and there was the potential for more minor or moderate flooding in Dungog and Paterson, but it was not considered life-threatening unless motorists made the decision to drive into floodwaters.