If the lagoon is coming up
Don't wait for water to reach the house. If the main switch is dry and you can reach it safely, turn it off before you leave. Once water has been through, nothing goes back on until a licensed electrician has checked it. Ring the SES on 132 500 for flood help, and Ausgrid on 13 13 88 for fallen lines or flooded street equipment.
Narrabeen's homes and power
Ausgrid
Ausgrid's checker lists Ausgrid for 2101.
The lagoon
Council says its lagoons can fill like a bathtub in heavy rain, and some nearby properties are so low lying they can flood even when the entrance is open.
Storm outages
The 26 November 2019 storm cut power to 52,000 homes in less than 10 minutes, North Narrabeen among them.
Mostly units
Flats were 64.7% of homes at the 2021 Census, townhouses or semis 18.7% and houses 15.8%. 37.5% were rented.
Holiday roots
The tram reached Narrabeen in 1913 and the lagoon became a holiday and camping spot. Collaroy-Narrabeen is now a NSW coastal erosion hotspot.
After the water goes down
Photograph first
Take photos of water lines on walls, wet power points and the switchboard, for your insurer and for the electrician.
Book a post-flood check
An electrician who does flood work tests every circuit, replaces wet power points, switches and fittings, and tells you what can be dried out and what cannot.
Leave outdoor gear off
Air conditioners, pool pumps and anything near the ground stay off until they have been inspected.
Keep the paperwork
You'll get a CCEW for the repairs. File it with the house papers.
If we lived by the lagoon
Next time you renovate the ground floor, ask the electrician to set power points and the switchboard above the last flood line. It's a small addition to a renovation, and it's what stops the next flood turning into a rewire.
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.