The State Emergency Service is preparing for the possibility of another long night as wild winds up to 90km/h continue to hammer many parts of NSW, with just over half the calls for help across the state coming from the Hunter and Central Coast since Monday evening.
The SES said Newcastle, Maitland, Cessnock, Lake Macquarie and Armidale had been the state's worst-hit locations after damaging winds blew through on Monday and Tuesday.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning that damaging winds would continue to pummel the Hunter on Wednesday, with winds averaging 50 to 65km/h possible.
SES crews from other regions - including the Mid North Coast - were brought to the Hunter to help respond to the hundreds of calls for assistance.
Of the 956 requests for help logged with the SES across NSW between Monday night and Tuesday afternoon, 487 came from the Hunter and Central Coast.
The jobs were mostly cases of fallen trees and branches, as well as roof damage.
SES Maitland unit commander Craig Parsons said calls for help were "still streaming in" on Tuesday afternoon.
As of 3pm, 93 jobs had been recorded in the Lake Macquarie area, 91 at Cessnock, 79 in Newcastle and 69 at Maitland.
In one case at Bolwarra, a massive tree branch fell onto a carport, which then came down onto a vehicle.
The resident of the home, who asked not to be named, said she heard a "very loud roaring sound" followed by hail, before the power failed and the sound of "a big crash of glass" rang out.
Over in Mayfield, a tree fell onto a home in Myola Street - the weather was so loud on Monday night the man who lived there was unaware what had happened until his partner arrived home from work and broke the news to him.
"I was at the back door and it was that wild - it was crazy," Brad Emerton said.
"I had stuff blowing around out the back so I was just trying to sort that out. I didn't hear anything, [the wind] was so loud."
Across the street, a corrugated iron shed roof blew onto the home next door.
SES volunteers at Rutherford battled strong winds to put tarps on damaged homes throughout Tuesday - particularly in Benjamin Circuit and Adam Avenue - where roof tiles had been ripped off.
Thousands of homes were without power on Monday night and Tuesday morning, but Ausgrid got most of the properties back online - with a smattering of suburbs across the region still affected in the afternoon.
There were gusts up to 78km/h at Maitland and Nobbys throughout the day, 76km/h at Cessnock and in the low 70s at Williamtown.
"Recent rainfall has saturated the ground, increasing the risk of trees and branches falling in the wind," SES deputy commissioner Daniel Austin said.
"Reconsider whether it's necessary for you to be on the roads, and if it is, drive to the conditions. Consider that powerlines may be tangled in fallen trees. If you're at home, secure any outdoor furniture and avoid parking your vehicle under trees."
