As much of the east coast of NSW was pummelled with record-breaking rain and widespread flooding this week, our teams again rose to the challenge to help those in desperate need.

Social housing residents from all over Greater Sydney and Newcastle have called Ventia seeking urgent repairs and assistance with leaking roofs, water damage, flooding in high-rise car parks, and fallen trees. 

Calls to the N3C for repairs are up by 160% and work orders have increased by 148%.

To respond to the record number of calls, Ventia's National Contact and Coordination Centre (N3C) seconded extra staff from other areas within the business to the meet demand.

Field teams have also been proactively going out to flood-prone areas to make sure homes are safe and prepared for the expected deluge.

Ventia Contract director Ian Ryles said considerable additional resources had been required on all shifts from both the N3C and the Housing Contract Team to cope with the huge number of calls for help.

"This has been a tremendous collaborative effort and everyone has worked so hard to ensure the safety of our customers and I thank them for their teamwork," Ian said.
 
"A critical triage system has been put in place for urgent works and our teams have been working with the SES to complete jobs as soon as possible.

While the conditions faced by our staff can be quite hazardous, the safety of our team members and sub-contractors remains our number one priority during this significant weather event.

^{Pictured: Ventia's National Contact and Coordination Centre (N3C).}

The N3C took around 180 calls an hour on Thursday, 3 March, with around 2,000 responded to by the end of the day. This is an increase from Wednesday when calls averaged about 150 an hour, with a total of 1,700 customers asking for help. The N3C usually responds to about 70-90 calls an hour.