It was the most ferocious surge of water to hit the Hunter since the 1955 flood.
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And memories of the devastating 2015 April super storm, which left four people dead and a damage bill in excess of $800 million, are still rife in the minds of those who lived through it.
More than 250 homes across the region were damaged when the east coast low unleashed 135 km/h winds and record rainfall.
Maitland was battered with 435 millimetres of rain in 24 hours, turning low-lying suburbs into raging rivers.
Paul Manyweathers will never forget the metre of water that rushed through his historic East Maitland house.
Repairs are still underway at the William Street property, almost a year after the flash flood thoroughly soaked the lower level of the 1800s home. It left a damage bill in excess of $220,000 and walls, antiques, handmade carpentry and handwoven rugs in ruins.
Outside the water was almost level with the top of the concrete fence posts.
Mr Manyweather, a builder, said the house hadn’t seen that much water since the 1955 flood and its triple-brick design left water lingering in the brick work for five months.
He has been doing most of the work himself in between other jobs across the city and is still not sure when the house will be back in shape.
“The insurance money will cover the costs because I’m a builder,” he said.
Mr Manyweathers and his wife spent May to October without any plasterboard or skirting boards on the walls and had 10 industrial fans constantly buzzing to try to dry the bricks. The exercise left them with a $1000 power bill.
“It was like living in a wind tunnel,” Mr Manyweathers said. “All winter we put up with the wind coming up under the house because there was no plaster and no skirting boards.”
The plasterboard and woodwork have now been replaced. The house was destroyed by fire in 1924, the early 1990s and in 2008. It was destroyed by flood in 1897, 1955 and 2015.
