But the SES has warned that the worst is yet to come for the region, with a powerful east coast low currently sitting north east off the coast of Newcastle and heading south. Maitland was hit hard by driving rain with 100 millimetres falling by mid-afternoon on Sunday, the heavy falls causing minor flooding and road closures at Morpeth, Rutherford and Louth Park.

Meanwhile, Williamtown recorded 50mm of rain on Sunday, which closed roads and wreaked traffic havoc on the busy intersections in low-lying Hexham and Tomago.

The SES was kept busy in the Hunter and Central Coast on Sunday, with the majority of the 130 callouts for preventative assistance like sandbagging homes.

"Most of those callouts have been along the coastal areas," SES Northern Zone Public Information Officer Scott McLennan said. "We are positioned exceptionally well for the area. "But the forecast for this afternoon, tonight and tomorrow is not great. "We know there is increasing and persistent rainfall that will continue across the region, with figures in the 100mm to 200mm range."

Mr McLennan said there had been no flood rescues in the Hunter as of mid-afternoon on Sunday.

But with conditions predicted to worsen overnight there were more than 100 SES workers on standby across the Hunter.

"With the strong winds and very wet conditions it is the perfect storm for landslips and landslides as well as trees coming down and slippery roads," he said.

BOM meteorologist Jane Golding said the heavy rain would stick around until at least Tuesday.

"As expected we have seen that east coast low form off the mid-north coast of NSW and we've seen that coastal trough continue to deepen so that is producing extraordinary rainfall rates over the last two days," Ms Golding said. "So the forecast is for it to continue to develop and track slowly southward into the Hunter coast and the Sydney coast over the next 24 hours. "The signs are that it will remain in our region until Tuesday."

When asked about coastal erosion hot spots across the state, Ms Golding mentioned Stockton beach as a particular concern.

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