Animals stranded, houses surrounded: out on Hunter floodwaters with SES

The Advertiser

23-05-2025

A lone fox scurries along a small patch of green as a lizard hitches a ride on a log floating along muddy waters.
Pelicans glide along the surface of the Paterson river, oblivious to the unnaturally-high river flowing around them.
A black cow stands idle as water laps around her hooves.
An NSW State Emergency Service high-speed rescue boat passes people along with animals grappling with the flood-affected river and surrounding farmland.
Several NSW SES rescue and supply boats have left the Hunter River at Morpeth the last few days and winded northwards to the Paterson River at Hinton and Woodville to help residents isolated at home.
Many properties in the small community of Woodville on the banks of the river have been cut off from the roads after heavy rain hit earlier this week.
One house was semi-submerged, with a person evacuated and his two horses forced to be left behind on the paddock.
Scott Fraser and his fluffy companions, Tilly and Lucy, had sheltered in place since the floodwaters rose on Tuesday, May 23.
With a friendly wave to the passing rescue boat, Mr Fraser joked that with only his dogs to keep him company, he was lucky he shaved this morning.
"I looked like a Yeti this morning," he laughed.
Setting up camp in his shed, Mr Fraser said the bottom half of his house was underwater, and while isolating was fine, he was worried about the clean-up.
"I'm a bit nervous of what it is going to be like when the river goes down, I'm pretty worried that I won't have any river or bank left eventually," he said.
Right next to Mr Fraser's home was the Dunmore Bridge, which was closed early in the flooding.
Large masses of sticks, logs and other debris had collected at the base of the Woodville bridge, and like many in the local area, he was unsure when the mess would subside.
"It's beautiful living here 99.9 per cent of the time and you wouldn't want to live anywhere else, and then you get this and it's a couple of months of hard work," Mr Fraser said.
While Mr Fraser had some concerns about the aftermath, his dogs didn't have a care in the world.
"They think it is all very exciting, there have been pelicans everywhere so they are loving it," he said.
His friends had dropped some pies before the water rushed in, and with a few bottles of vodka and non-alcoholic treats like lemonade and ginger beer, he reckoned he would be alright.
The Hunter local said he was used to flooding having grown up in Duckenfield.
"It is just natural, it would be like living next to the airport and whinging about the noise," he said.
Many communities in the Hunter have been evacuated or isolated since the flooding started earlier this week including residents in parts of Dungog, Paterson, and Hinton.
To stay up to date with flood warnings follow the Newcastle Herald's live blog.
A lone fox scurries along a small patch of green as a lizard hitches a ride on a log floating along muddy waters.
Pelicans glide along the surface of the Paterson river, oblivious to the unnaturally-high river flowing around them.
A black cow stands idle as water laps around her hooves.
An NSW State Emergency Service high-speed rescue boat passes people along with animals grappling with the flood-affected river and surrounding farmland.
Several NSW SES rescue and supply boats have left the Hunter River at Morpeth the last few days and winded northwards to the Paterson River at Hinton and Woodville to help residents isolated at home.
Many properties in the small community of Woodville on the banks of the river have been cut off from the roads after heavy rain hit earlier this week.
One house was semi-submerged, with a person evacuated and his two horses forced to be left behind on the paddock.
Scott Fraser and his fluffy companions, Tilly and Lucy, had sheltered in place since the floodwaters rose on Tuesday, May 23.
With a friendly wave to the passing rescue boat, Mr Fraser joked that with only his dogs to keep him company, he was lucky he shaved this morning.
"I looked like a Yeti this morning," he laughed.
Setting up camp in his shed, Mr Fraser said the bottom half of his house was underwater, and while isolating was fine, he was worried about the clean-up.
"I'm a bit nervous of what it is going to be like when the river goes down, I'm pretty worried that I won't have any river or bank left eventually," he said.
Right next to Mr Fraser's home was the Dunmore Bridge, which was closed early in the flooding.
Large masses of sticks, logs and other debris had collected at the base of the Woodville bridge, and like many in the local area, he was unsure when the mess would subside.
"It's beautiful living here 99.9 per cent of the time and you wouldn't want to live anywhere else, and then you get this and it's a couple of months of hard work," Mr Fraser said.
While Mr Fraser had some concerns about the aftermath, his dogs didn't have a care in the world.
"They think it is all very exciting, there have been pelicans everywhere so they are loving it," he said.
His friends had dropped some pies before the water rushed in, and with a few bottles of vodka and non-alcoholic treats like lemonade and ginger beer, he reckoned he would be alright.
The Hunter local said he was used to flooding having grown up in Duckenfield.
"It is just natural, it would be like living next to the airport and whinging about the noise," he said.
Many communities in the Hunter have been evacuated or isolated since the flooding started earlier this week including residents in parts of Dungog, Paterson, and Hinton.
To stay up to date with flood warnings follow the Newcastle Herald's live blog.
A lone fox scurries along a small patch of green as a lizard hitches a ride on a log floating along muddy waters.
Pelicans glide along the surface of the Paterson river, oblivious to the unnaturally-high river flowing around them.
A black cow stands idle as water laps around her hooves.
An NSW State Emergency Service high-speed rescue boat passes people along with animals grappling with the flood-affected river and surrounding farmland.
Several NSW SES rescue and supply boats have left the Hunter River at Morpeth the last few days and winded northwards to the Paterson River at Hinton and Woodville to help residents isolated at home.
Many properties in the small community of Woodville on the banks of the river have been cut off from the roads after heavy rain hit earlier this week.
One house was semi-submerged, with a person evacuated and his two horses forced to be left behind on the paddock.
Scott Fraser and his fluffy companions, Tilly and Lucy, had sheltered in place since the floodwaters rose on Tuesday, May 23.
With a friendly wave to the passing rescue boat, Mr Fraser joked that with only his dogs to keep him company, he was lucky he shaved this morning.
"I looked like a Yeti this morning," he laughed.
Setting up camp in his shed, Mr Fraser said the bottom half of his house was underwater, and while isolating was fine, he was worried about the clean-up.
"I'm a bit nervous of what it is going to be like when the river goes down, I'm pretty worried that I won't have any river or bank left eventually," he said.
Right next to Mr Fraser's home was the Dunmore Bridge, which was closed early in the flooding.
Large masses of sticks, logs and other debris had collected at the base of the Woodville bridge, and like many in the local area, he was unsure when the mess would subside.
"It's beautiful living here 99.9 per cent of the time and you wouldn't want to live anywhere else, and then you get this and it's a couple of months of hard work," Mr Fraser said.
While Mr Fraser had some concerns about the aftermath, his dogs didn't have a care in the world.
"They think it is all very exciting, there have been pelicans everywhere so they are loving it," he said.
His friends had dropped some pies before the water rushed in, and with a few bottles of vodka and non-alcoholic treats like lemonade and ginger beer, he reckoned he would be alright.
The Hunter local said he was used to flooding having grown up in Duckenfield.
"It is just natural, it would be like living next to the airport and whinging about the noise," he said.
Many communities in the Hunter have been evacuated or isolated since the flooding started earlier this week including residents in parts of Dungog, Paterson, and Hinton.
To stay up to date with flood warnings follow the Newcastle Herald's live blog.
A lone fox scurries along a small patch of green as a lizard hitches a ride on a log floating along muddy waters.
Pelicans glide along the surface of the Paterson river, oblivious to the unnaturally-high river flowing around them.
A black cow stands idle as water laps around her hooves.
An NSW State Emergency Service high-speed rescue boat passes people along with animals grappling with the flood-affected river and surrounding farmland.
Several NSW SES rescue and supply boats have left the Hunter River at Morpeth the last few days and winded northwards to the Paterson River at Hinton and Woodville to help residents isolated at home.
Many properties in the small community of Woodville on the banks of the river have been cut off from the roads after heavy rain hit earlier this week.
One house was semi-submerged, with a person evacuated and his two horses forced to be left behind on the paddock.
Scott Fraser and his fluffy companions, Tilly and Lucy, had sheltered in place since the floodwaters rose on Tuesday, May 23.
With a friendly wave to the passing rescue boat, Mr Fraser joked that with only his dogs to keep him company, he was lucky he shaved this morning.
"I looked like a Yeti this morning," he laughed.
Setting up camp in his shed, Mr Fraser said the bottom half of his house was underwater, and while isolating was fine, he was worried about the clean-up.
"I'm a bit nervous of what it is going to be like when the river goes down, I'm pretty worried that I won't have any river or bank left eventually," he said.
Right next to Mr Fraser's home was the Dunmore Bridge, which was closed early in the flooding.
Large masses of sticks, logs and other debris had collected at the base of the Woodville bridge, and like many in the local area, he was unsure when the mess would subside.
"It's beautiful living here 99.9 per cent of the time and you wouldn't want to live anywhere else, and then you get this and it's a couple of months of hard work," Mr Fraser said.
While Mr Fraser had some concerns about the aftermath, his dogs didn't have a care in the world.
"They think it is all very exciting, there have been pelicans everywhere so they are loving it," he said.
His friends had dropped some pies before the water rushed in, and with a few bottles of vodka and non-alcoholic treats like lemonade and ginger beer, he reckoned he would be alright.
The Hunter local said he was used to flooding having grown up in Duckenfield.
"It is just natural, it would be like living next to the airport and whinging about the noise," he said.
Many communities in the Hunter have been evacuated or isolated since the flooding started earlier this week including residents in parts of Dungog, Paterson, and Hinton.
To stay up to date with flood warnings follow the Newcastle Herald's live blog.