The vegetated steep incline between the road and an extension to No 1 Ocean Terrace gave way some time on Saturday night, apparently without the homeowners realising.

Neighbours said they were woken at about 5.30am by the flashing red lights from fire brigade units that attended the scene.

Ocean Terrace is a group of six brick terraces built side by side and dating from the Victorian era.

The landslip is under a modern deck and extension that was embedded into the hill and only completed last year.

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The landslip has eroded under the extension, and piping and foundations were visible from the road.

The owners said the understood the public interest but declined to comment.

A number of nearby properties in Newcastle East are midway through either construction or renovation but all other sites appeared intact yesterday morning.

Although the statewide focus moved yesterday from the Hunter and mid-north coast regions to low-lying parts of the greater Sydney basin, numerous Hunter weather stations reported more than 50mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday morning. A handful topped 100mm, including Blacksmiths, with 106mm, and Nords Wharf with 109mm.

Further north, Wallis Lakes recorded 139mm to 9am Sunday, while Cabbage Tree Mountain in the Myall catchment receiving 152mm.

With heavy rain expected to continue, the State Emergency Service is warning of flooding across the region, with "local flooding" predicted for the Newcastle area, the Karuah River, and the Central Coast, and minor flooding in Lake Macquarie.

Residents reported the threat of flooding in Cardiff yesterday afternoon with the stormwater channel of Winding Creek on the verge of overflowing into Main Street.

At 5pm yesterday the SES issued a major flood warning for Wollombi Brook at Bulga overnight, with the brook already recorded at Wollombi.

The SES said Wollombi Brook had exceeded its moderate flood level of 3.7 metres and was likely to reach major flood level of 4.6 metres overnight on Sunday.

The Hunter River had peaked at 6.7 metres at Belmore Bridge, Maitland, on Sunday morning, and had fallen by 100mm by late Sunday, with minor flooding.

The Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle said yesterday that its primary schools in Bulahdelah, Gloucester, Wingham and Taree, and its Taree high, would be shut today.

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