If Ironbark Creek comes up
Only turn off the main switch if you can reach it without standing in water. Stay out of flooded rooms where power points or appliances are under water. Once it drains, a licensed electrician has to test every wet circuit before the power goes back on. For storm and flood help, ring the SES on 132 500.
Wallsend's background
Floods past the channel
Council says that once a flood is bigger than a 10% annual exceedance probability event, water spills out of the Ironbark Creek channel into the town centre. The 2007 Pasha Bulker storm caused significant damage and danger to life here.
A plan, not yet a fix
Council has adopted a floodplain risk management plan for the commercial centre, and its studies found the risk can only be cut by replacing bridges and widening the stormwater channel.
Two pit towns
The Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company's colliery opened in January 1861. Wallsend and Plattsburg grew side by side and had joined up again by 1915.
Renters
At the 2021 Census, 36.7% of homes were rented, 77.7% were separate houses and 16.9% were townhouses or semis.
The network
Wallsend is on Ausgrid's network. Ring 13 13 88 for outages or fallen lines, and keep 8 metres from any wire on the ground.
The jobs Wallsend homes need
After a flood: testing, drying-out checks and replacing power points, switches or appliances that sat in water. Ausgrid says gear near the ground, like air conditioners and pool pumps, should stay off until inspected. See storm and flood damage.
In older houses: switchboard upgrades and partial rewires. A board on a dark bituminous panel from before 1987 may contain asbestos, so it's handled with more care.
For landlords: quick, documented repairs. Any electrical fault in a NSW rental is an urgent repair. City of Newcastle also notes flash floods can arrive with less than an hour's warning, so tenants should know where the main switch is.
Where we would start in Wallsend
In the flood-prone part of town, we'd get the switchboard upgraded so circuits are split up and each has safety switch protection. After a flood, that makes it far easier for an electrician to isolate what got wet and get the rest of the house running again.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.