Mr McCann caught a rubber duck boat home on Thursday morning after finding Cessnock Road cut by floodwater when returning from work earlier this week.

Luckily, he could stay with his son and daughter-in-law until the State Emergency Service and Surf Lifesaving NSW started ferrying people back and forth from the isolated estate.

Mr McCann, who was relieved to be reuniting with his wife Janet and seven-year-old Labrador Bentley, said the situation had brought back bad memories of the flood following the 2015 super storm in Maitland, which cut off Gillieston Heights for several days.

"We're living it through again," he told the Newcastle Herald before climbing aboard the small vessel.

Flood warnings and evacuations remained in place through many parts of the region on Thursday, as a rain bomb that hit the Hunter earlier this week continued to move further north.

The SES said major flood levels could be reached at Maitland some time overnight on Thursday and into Friday, with inundation classified as moderate during the day on Thursday.

The Herald understands there are two nurses on what residents are calling Gillieston Island and the suburb's pharmacy has been restocked with supplies.

The rubber duck ferry service began taking people home to Gillieston Heights from the mainland on Thursday morning, as well as bringing people to shore near the roundabout at the intersection of the New England Highway and Cessnock Road in order to walk to buy supplies at the nearby supermarket.

Julie and John Moy climbed off the boat with their dog Lil after evacuating their home in Louth Park.

Mrs Moy said their O'Connells Road home was on stilts, so had not been inundated, but everything in their yard was flooded - including five cars.

They were off to stay with friends until the floodwater recedes.

Alisha McTaggart reunited with her young sons Drake Lymar, 9, and Marcus Lymar, 7, after they were flooded-in while visiting their dad and step mum at Gillieston Heights.

Ms McTaggart said young Marcus needed some medicine so she was glad to have him off the island.

Drake was fascinated with the scene.

"It's really cool," he said.

"When you're driving down the lane and see all the water, you think it's just a pond but it's like a river."

Meanwhile, Anthony Lloyd and his son Tom were paddling along the underwater Athel Dombrain Drive - kayaks were the only way in and out of their home.

Mr Lloyd said he had lived at the spot near Maitland railway station for more than two decades and had seen "three decent floods" in that time.

By his measure, the level near his house was about two inches lower than that of the 2015 flood.

"The good thing about having these kayaks in here is it stops the idiots driving in - the local circus clowns," he said.

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