A New Lambton Heights family was left shaken after trees came crashing down on their house in wild weather that battered the region over the past few days.
The State Emergency Service was called to more than 200 requests for assistance across the Hunter and Central Coast in a 24 hour period, with wind gusts of more than 100km/h recorded in the region.
A 'storm force' wind warning - the level below hurricane - was issued by the Bureau of Meteorology yesterday as massive swells smashed the coastline, forcing Surfest organisers to cancel their Friday competition.
A young family spent yesterday morning salvaging what they could after a gumtree came crashing through their New Lambton Heights house on Thursday afternoon.
"It was the scariest thing I have ever been through," the father said. "We were all in the house at the time and I can tell you my daughter was lucky to escape with her life.
"We are just trying to salvage what we can out of the house - basically just what we need to survive.
"We just have to get what we can out before the wind and rain returns."
Two trees crashed down on to the house and two neighbouring residences.
The State Emergency Service had responded to 214 jobs across the Hunter and Central Coast in the 24 hours to 3pm Friday, including 22 calls for assistance in Newcastle and another 20 in Lake Macquarie.
More than 80 per cent of the jobs were for storm damage, while almost all the rest were for flooding issues.
A peak 102 km/h wind gust was recorded at Murrurundi on Thursday night.
About 40 people had to be moved in the Rankin Park Centre on the grounds of John Hunter Hospital on Thursday afternoon due to a risky branch on a nearby tree posing a risk in the strong winds.
The patients were relocated to a different part of the building before the branch was removed.
The wild weather has forced the cancellation of Wildflower Festival at Roche Estate this weekend as well as next weekend's Hunter Valley Steamfest.
