HORROR floods couldn't break the spirit of community across the Hunter, but destructive water that overturned cars, wiped out homes and pulled down powerlines has racked up an astronomical damage bill in its wake.
As Broke residents returned to cracked paddocks, homes suffocated by silt and debris and roads hollowed out with craters on Friday, the reality of a long recovery began to set in.
It was a heartbreak shared by others hit by fierce floodwaters as they swept through Bulga, Singleton, Raymond Terrace, Maitland and beyond.
"We don't have the funds to do the sorts of road repairs we are looking at, there's major damage and we still hadn't fixed everything that was ruined in the March 2022 flood," Singleton mayor Sue Moore said.
"If you look at the road at Bulga there's massive culvert pipes that have been thrown around like twigs, there's a whole section of road that's washed away and just gone.
"When you're talking about resupplying a village [Broke] with power and water, that's beyond council's capabilities, so we need the state government to step up big time, deliver those massive projects that are not in our realm at all of being able to deliver."
Broke is still a declared evacuation zone, residents were allowed back on Friday to start the arduous task of cleaning up - but without power or running water they likely won't be able to return home for weeks.
The Herald reached out to councils across the region for an estimate of the damage, but with much of it still lying under murky floodwater not one could begin to provide a realistic figure.
Hunter MP Dan Repacholi said it will be days and weeks before the true extent of the destruction comes to light.
"The repair bill - who knows, people have lost houses, it's not just the infrastructure but it's priceless the items some of them have lost," he said.
"The state certainly needs to have a huge part to play in the rebuild, we are one of the biggest growth areas in the state and we send so much money to Sydney, right now we need it back.
"The damage is phenomenal to be honest, we've heard heartbreaking stories from the relief centre at Cessnock, people are banding together to do the best they can to get back on their feet but the agriculture sector has suffered significant losses as well."
In just 18 hours, the Broke, Bulga and Wollombi communities had raised more than $1000 towards its $50,000 goal to help victims of the floods.
Many of them are living without the bare essentials to get through winter.
Singleton NSW SES public information officer Simone Merrick said it's a difficult situation.
"We're still assessing a lot of the damage, for people in Broke there are houses inundated and extensive damage," she said.
"There are multiple powerlines down, it's a mess, there's no other way to put it.
"There's a lot of community spirit, supporting each other but it doesn't make this time any less hard."
In Maitland, 14 teams are working on urgent road repairs and more than 50 tonnes of asphalt has been used to fill potholes since the start of the week.
The road damage was so severe the council ran out of warning barriers to keep people out of floodwaters and had to order more.
A Lake Macquarie City Council spokeswoman said at this stage damage has been identified at the esplanade at Warners Bay, Catherine Hill Bay beach access, Bareki Road Eleebana, Mount Sugarloaf recreation car park and Wangi Road at Wangi Wangi.
At least 15 roads in across the local government area were closed due to wet weather.
"Council welcomes the inclusion of the Lake Macquarie LGA in the Disaster Declaration," the spokeswoman said.
"We anticipate there will be significantly increased costs and resources required to recover from this week's weather event.
"A disaster assistance declaration under the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements assists us greatly in being able to respond as quickly and effectively as possible to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our community.
"It also ensures members of the community and businesses that have been affected by the rain and flooding can access appropriate support through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State disaster assistance."
