Emergency services are searching for a woman swept away in flood water overnight in the state's Hunter region.
About 7.50pm yesterday (Saturday 2 August 2025), emergency services were called to Black Creek, Old North Road, Rothbury about 16km north of Cessnock, following reports a car had become stuck in floodwater.
Officers attached to Hunter Valley Police District arrived and were told a Mini Countryman had attempted to drive through floodwater before it became stuck.
The driver and a passenger have then attempted to exit the MINI; however, the passenger – a woman believed to be aged in her 20s – was swept away in floodwater.
The driver – a 27-year-old woman – was uninjured.
On arrival NSW State Emergency Service (SES) crews located an additional person – a 40-year-old man – stuck in a tree nearby after he also became trapped in floodwater.
Emergency services attempted to reach the man; however, he was swept from the tree further down Black Creek.
SES members followed the man through the water before they were able to safely pull him to shore nearby.
He was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to hospital for assessment.
The search for the woman has been suspended and emergency services – including NSW Rural Fire Service and VRA Rescue NSW – will continue to the search today (Sunday 3 August 2025).
Old North Road remains closed due to flooding. Live updates are available from www.livetraffic.com.
Members of the public in flood-affected areas are reminded to avoid dangers such as damaged powerlines and flood water on roads.
If you need assistance during floods and storms, call the NSW SES on 132 500, or Triple Zero (000) for life threatening emergencies.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
