The meeting also was used as a forum to post mortem emergency service responses.

According to district emergency management officer Tony Byrnes, “everything clicked into place” in regard to the response from emergency services during the torrential downpour on Friday evening and the floods early Saturday morning through to Sunday.

“The main concern to the State Emergency Services was speed at which the flood peaked,” Mr Byrnes said.

He said the speed at which the floodwater arrived in Tamworth was almost six or seven hours ahead of

forecasts.

“It was unheard of,” he said.

Mr Byrnes said the flooding at Bendemeer also took emergency services by surprise .

“There was so much happening in Tamworth that, when the call came, it was a surprise,” he said.

Department of Commerce regional procurement adviser Hunter New England region Jack Domas was also at yesterday’s meeting and said the intensity of the falls on Friday had revealed that Bureau of Meteorology modelling had “proved inadequate”.

Mr Domas said the department would be providing engineering resources for emergency reconstruction of assets, in concert with the Roads and Traffic Authority.

Tamworth Regional Council general manager Glenn Inglis was planning a trip to the Weabonga, Mulla Creek and Limbri districts yesterday afternoon to inspect flood-damaged council assets.

Mr Inglis said in one example, between 2km and 2.5km of road had been badly damaged by the flooding and Sherrin’s bridge, on Weabonga Rd, had been badly damaged as well.