It is an event Northside Progress Association president Carla McKern remembers well.

She has lived on the North Shore for almost 40 years. Across the ferry is notorious for flash flooding, with houses sitting just metres from the water.

It is why residents are well educated and well equipped to prepare their homes at this time of the year, with storm season well and truly underway.

"We have had some pretty bad storms and floods, and the worst we have had was in 2013 in my opinion,” she said. 

Flashback: Storms, flooding on the Mid North Coast in 2013.

“It was so much higher than we expected it to be and it surprised a lot of people. We are so close to the river mouth that it comes up and goes down, as we don't have the damage from fast flowing water.

“However if people are caught out their cars can go under and that sort of thing. Most of the houses over here are built for the conditions, to take floods and heavy rain.”

She said it pays to be prepared, with a huge clean up at this time of the year a must for any North Shore resident.

“The first thing we do to prepare is taking away any furniture on the verandah that may fly around,” she explained.

“I put things like pot plants under cover because if a strong wind picks it up it can go through a window. It's basically the time for a big clean up.”

It may seem like a common sense thing to do all year round, but with damaging winds often picking up outdoor furniture and causing havoc, it is better to be safe than sorry.

“We have lost gazebos and outdoor umbrellas that end up flying down the street,” Ms McKern said.

“If we know there is a strong storm coming we will check on our elderly neighbours and people who are in need of help.”

The SES provide the North Shore with sand and sandbags in an easily accessible public location.

“All of this is a typical thing to do around storm season. We all know what the weather will be like,” she said.

Port Macquarie NSW SES unit held a community engagement day on October 13, with workshops teaching people how to help themselves during storms and in the aftermath. 

Laurieton is the second most storm-affected town in NSW, according to data released by NRMA Insurance. Port Macquarie came in at fourth.

The NRMA data also revealed the Mid North Coast is the second most storm-affected region in the state for the last financial year. Twenty one per cent of all storm claims made in NSW were reported from the region. 

On January 1, 2018 a severe storm swept through Laurieton and the Camden Haven, bringing heavy rain and hail. 

Residents reported widespread damage to their house roofs, sky lights, windows, cars and caravans. 

NSW State Emergency Service Port Macquarie-Hastings local commander Paul Burg said majority of the jobs were associated with hail damage and members assisted until 1am on January 2. 

The wider Port Macquarie-Hastings area was also hit by widespread flooding, after close to 200mm of rain was dumped in a highly charged weather system on Boxing Day, 2017.

The SES is urging people to take appropriate steps to secure their homes. 

The NSW SES website provides people with a number of resources in relation to storm preparation. 

For more information people can visit www.ses.nsw.gov.au

While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Port Macquarie News. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, SIGN UP HERE.