We've started a new year and a new decade ... the Guardian News is looking back at the most popular stories from 2019 ....
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On the afternoon of March 19 a violent wind storm carved a path of destruction through the Nambucca Valley with ground zero at Newee Creek.
Buildings and sheds were obliterated, and stands of large mature trees were snapped in half or torn from the ground.
Essential Energy crew worked to restore power, while emergency services including Rural Fire Service brigades from Newee Creek, Valla, Warrell Creek and Headquarters, along with Fire and Rescue swarmed into Newee Creek.
The State Emergency Service also dispatched trucks, while Nambucca Shire Council had a small army of work trucks and earthmoving machinery on scene.
With darkness gathering the full picture of the damage may not reveal until morning.
Christine Glover captured this lightning strike from Talarm
Longtime Newee Creek resident Kim Jury told the Guardian she had never seen anything like it.
"I was standing inside with my son watching it hit. It was scarey," said Kim, whose house survived, though an adjacent granny flat was demolished.
"The rain was coming in sideways and the wind was absolutely unbelievable. And the noise, it was deafening."
The main punch of the windstorm was across a narrow front - piercing through Irvines Rd, across Newee Creek Rd near Soldiers Settlers Rd, before changing tack and re-emerging to bring trees down and knock water tanks over at Hawks Rd.
Watch this video showing the full force of the mini cyclone
Read the full story about the storm and its aftermath here.