Electrical safety after a storm or flood in Byron Shire

After a storm or flood, stay at least eight metres from any fallen power line and treat it as live, leave wet circuits switched off, and have a licensed electrician test the house wiring before you turn the power back on. Damage to poles, lines and the street supply is reported to Essential Energy, the network operator for the Byron area. Anything inside your property boundary, from the switchboard to the power points, is a job for a licensed electrician.

How often does Byron Shire flood?

Often enough that every household should have a plan. In February and March 2022, 817 homes in Byron Shire were recorded as flooded, according to a NSW Government answer to Parliament. The answer broke the total down by locality:

Locality	Homes recorded as flooded, 2022
Mullumbimby	468
South Golden Beach	183
Ocean Shores	122
Brunswick Heads	26
Byron Shire total	817

The NSW SES Byron local information page says the shire gets both riverine and flash flooding. The Brunswick River is the main river system, and in 2022 it reached 4.97 m at Mullumbimby, flooding large parts of the town. The SES also notes that landslips badly damaged properties and infrastructure in the region that year, which matters for hinterland homes where a slip can pull on overhead service lines or underground cables.

For town-specific detail, the Mullumbimby electrician page and the Ocean Shores electrician page cover local housing and common jobs.

What should you do first after a storm?

Work through these in order:

1. Look before you walk outside. Check the yard, the street and the driveway for fallen lines, broken branches resting on wires and damaged poles.
2. Keep eight metres away. Essential Energy’s safety advice, repeated in its media release on staying clear of the network, is to remain at least eight metres clear of fallen power lines or exposed wiring, and to treat lines and anything touching them as live. That includes fences, cars, trees and puddles in contact with a wire.
3. Report network damage. Use Essential Energy’s outages and faults page to report an outage online and to see current and planned outages. If anyone is in danger, contact emergency services straight away.
4. Check your own switchboard from a dry spot. If the board, the floor around it or your feet are wet, do not touch it.
5. Write down what you see. Note which circuits have tripped and take photos for the electrician and your insurer.

When is it safe to turn the power back on?

Not until the parts that got wet have been checked. Water inside power points, light fittings, ceiling spaces or the switchboard can leave a path for current long after the surface looks dry, and mud and salt left behind by flood water make it worse.

Situation	What to do
Power out across the street, no damage at your place	Wait for Essential Energy to restore supply; check the outage list
Safety switch tripped, house dry	Try resetting once; if it trips again, leave it off and call an electrician
Water entered the house but stayed below the power points	Leave affected circuits off until an electrician tests them
Water reached power points, the board or appliances	Leave the main switch off; get the wiring and board tested before reconnecting
Roof leak over lights or a fan	Switch that circuit off and keep it off until it has been checked

A safety switch that keeps tripping after a storm is doing its job. Forcing it to stay on, or bypassing it, removes the protection at the exact moment it matters most. The fault finding page explains how an electrician traces a circuit that will not hold.

Is a solar system safe after a flood?

The NSW Government’s electrical safety in the home page says never to assume a solar PV system is safe after a storm or flood. If any part of the system is covered in water or still wet, do not try to turn it off yourself, because that could cause a fatal shock. Keep clear of the panels, inverter and isolators, and have a licensed electrician inspect the system before anyone touches it.

Panels keep producing power whenever there is daylight, even when the grid is down, so a solar system damaged by wind or water is a hazard in its own right.

Can you run a generator during an outage?

Yes, with care. A portable generator should only power appliances plugged directly into it with suitable leads. The NSW Government warns never to power house wiring by plugging a generator into a wall outlet, because power can feed back into the network and endanger line workers and neighbours.

If you want a generator to run the house, or parts of it, a licensed electrical contractor needs to install a changeover switch so the house is cut off from the grid while the generator is connected. On hinterland properties around Mullumbimby and the Byron hills, where a house may run water pumps or a home office, plan this before the wet season rather than during a storm.

Run any generator outside, away from windows and doors, never in a garage or under the house.

What if a tree or landslip has hit the line to your house?

On hillside blocks and treed streets, storms often bring branches down across the overhead service line that runs from the pole to the house, and a slip can tilt a pole or pull the line tight. Do not try to clear branches, lift the line or check the connection point on the wall. Report it to Essential Energy and keep people and pets well back. Once the network side has been made safe, a licensed electrician can check the meter box, the main switch and any house wiring that was strained or wet.

What will an electrician check after flood water?

A careful electrician will usually:

• Inspect the switchboard for water, mud, corrosion and heat damage.
• Test each circuit’s insulation and the earthing before reconnecting anything.
• Open up power points, switches and junction boxes that sat below the water line.
• Check under-floor and in-wall cables in raised homes where water flowed underneath.
• Look over any solar inverter, battery, hot water system and pool or water pump.
• Tell you in writing what must be replaced before the circuit can be used again.

Any repair or replacement wiring work has to be tested and certified like any other job. For older houses, the NSW Government suggests homes built before the 1980s should be inspected anyway, because old rubber-coated cable crumbles and can expose live wires. A flood is a good time to do that check properly, and the electrical safety inspections page describes what one involves.

How do you prepare before the next storm season?

• Find your main switch and know how to turn it off in the dark.
• Test your safety switches, which NSW guidance says should happen every six months.
• Ask an electrician whether outdoor outlets and lights near low-lying areas can be moved higher.
• If you have a generator, get the changeover switch fitted now.
• Keep a torch, a charged phone and the Essential Energy outage page saved somewhere you can reach.
• Photograph your switchboard and appliances so you have a before record for any insurance claim.

Who will come out to your property?

This site is a referral service and does not send anyone itself. Your enquiry is passed to an independent licensed electrician who works in the area, and that electrician inspects, quotes and carries out any repair. The about page explains how it works. This form is not a way to report danger: for fallen lines or fire, keep clear and contact emergency services or Essential Energy directly. Once the area is safe, you can ask for a post-storm electrical check.

Next step: describe the storm or flood damage

Tell the electrician your suburb, how high the water came inside or under the house, which circuits are off or tripping, and whether you have solar, a battery or a generator. Send photos of the switchboard, any wet outlets or fittings and the meter box, and say whether your insurer needs a written report. With those details, book a flood or storm wiring test so the house can be reconnected safely.

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