A spokeswoman for the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment said the maintenance contractor inspected the floodgate within an hour of it being reported on Wednesday but was unable to clear the blockage safely because it was high tide.

The contractor was able to clear the blockage on Thursday morning and confirmed flood debris, including a log, had prevented the floodgate from closing.

The open gate caused flooding on low-lying properties on the outskirts of the town. It is the second time those properties have been flooded in a month.

In the news today:

Earlier:

Low-lying areas on the outskirts of Hinton are being flooded due to a malfunction with a floodgate.

Residents say the floodgate is supposed to be shut, but for some reason it is open and is allowing water from the rising Hunter River to flow into a drainage system.

That drainage system, which is part of the Hunter Valley Flood Mitigation Scheme, is now being overtopped and low-lying properties are being flooded.

If the problem isn't stopped residents say a large part of the town will be underwater.

Residents contacted Port Stephens Council as well as the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment on Wednesday morning to tell them about the problem.

They said it was difficult to get in touch with the right people who could assist.

With heavy rain forecasted for the rest of the week, they are worried the rising Hunter River will allow even more water to come into the town and it will eventually engulf Hinton Road - one of three routes out of the town.

Residents say it is unclear who is responsible for looking after this floodgate. The Mercury contacted the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment as well as Port Stephens Council for comment and is waiting for a response.

More to come.

In other news:

Do you know you can subscribe to get full access to all of our stories? Subscribing supports us in our local news coverage. To subscribe, click here.