The closure was due to possible asbestos contamination from houses impacted by Monday afternoon's violent storm cell that ripped through the area.

A number of homes were extensively damaged, some with their roofs ripped off during the intense, but short, storm.

Fire and Rescue NSW leading station officer Gaven Muller said issues around potential asbestos saw specialised crews called into action.

The Hazmat unit was at the site, with crews assessing the damaged homes and any roof sheeting that was in yards or on the road.

Crews sprayed a solution on the asbestos to make it safe.

But the lack of information around the decision to cordon off the road upset a number of North Shore residents, particularly residents on Plomer Road or living at the eastern end of Shoreline Drive.

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council rangers were on the southern bank alerting drivers about to use the ferry of the road closure.

A leaflet was also available at the road block notifying residents that the road would be closed until further notice.

"Council wishes to inform you that the road will be closed until further notice due to possible asbestos contamination on the road surface," the notice read.

"Council is working to alleviate the issue via clean-up.

"We appreciate this is an inconvenience for you but thank you for your patience."

Later on Wednesday night council issued a notice via the ferry SMS alert system about the road closure. The note also said it would use the alert system to inform residents when the road would re-open.

North Shore Progress Association president Kingsley Searle said residents had raised their concerns about a lack of communication over the road closure.

He wanted to see better communication for residents.

"We now have more tools and access to communications than ever before," he said. "Yet we can't seem to get messaging out at critical times.

"The local community was able to manage this problem through talking with each other and the grapevine.

"But if you are outside that community, where would you get your information from?

"We understand that this is a rare occurrence and there were a lot of different departments involved.

"There certainly needs to be clearly defined roles and responsibilities outlined so when this kind of event occurs again anywhere in the Hastings, there is a clear path to follow."

Mr Searle admitted to being "not happy with the situation".

"It is important that every agency takes learnings from this event and moves ahead.

"We want to make sure that whatever happens in the future, there are clear guidelines around how to handle it.

"Communication being a top priority."

It is understood council will meet with the progress association to discuss the matter in the near future.

Meanwhile the North Shore residents are battening down for potential river rises as the community's flood plan kicks into action.

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