What turns heavy rain into a major flood?

A NSW horse owner jumped into floodwater to save a horse wrapped in fencing tape from going under.

Although it has exhausted all legal appeals to overturn rejections of its coal mine plans, South Korean company KEPCO will be allowed to explore for coal in Bylong until 2027.

Authorities are still calculating the flood damage bill on the main highway between Sydney and Brisbane, but it is estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars.

Hundreds of flood-damaged homes and shops have been declared uninhabitable as a massive clean-up and recovery operation continues across the NSW Mid North Coast and Hunter regions.

Parts of NSW are experiencing some of their worst flooding on record. You'd be forgiven for thinking this is all about the rainfall. But it's not the only thing that matters.

The collapse of Australia's second-largest private hospital group, which runs Newcastle Private Hospital, is an early warning sign for the financial viability of private hospitals, a health policy expert says.

Patients across the country have been left with no teeth and drained superannuation accounts after clinics run by a NSW company were placed into administration.

With housing affordability now improving as interest rates come down, housing accessibility is likely to worsen further as prices again rise.

From a bush tucker section to vegetable beds and a "frog hotel", a range of ideas is taking root at the French Road Community Garden.

Penrith is now bottom of the ladder after suffering a 25-6 defeat against Newcastle in Bathurst.

Clouds clear: Maitland residents finally saw the sun setting last Friday after several days of heavy rain and cloud. The state government announced natural disaster declarations for council areas across the Hunter including Maitland, Dungog, Newcastle and Port Stephens. The declarations unlock financial assistance for those affected by recent flooding.

Image credit: Jane Greig

Homes evacuated: Assessments are continuing on a landslip in New Lambton, which has resulted in more than a dozen homes being evacuated. Emergency services were alerted to a landslip on Friday, which has affected more than 14 properties on Russell Road, Baker Street, Victoria Street and Portland Place. Engineers are assessing the damage.

More beach erosion: Port Stephens MP Kate Washington says she's been in contact with the Reconstruction Authority to see what assistance can be made available to address erosion at Jimmy's Beach. Severe weather last week has led to more erosion along the beachfront and part of the road has again fallen away. Erosion has long been a problem at Jimmy's Beach and locals have called for a permanent solution. Ms Washington says she wants to ensure any help that is available can be accessed.

Record-high dam levels: Dams across the Upper Hunter reached record levels following the heavy rain across the region last week. The Glenbawn Dam near Scone is sitting at about 855 gigalitres, which is 114 per cent of its capacity. Glennies Creek Dam near Singleton reached 112 per cent of its capacity late last week but has now dropped to 106 per cent. Lostock Dam near Gresford also reached almost 115 per cent but has since dropped to 103 per cent and is still spilling.

Appeal over mine approval: An Upper Hunter community group has launched an appeal against a decision to extend one of the largest coal mines in New South Wales. The Independent Planning Commission approved the extension of life for the Mount Pleasant coal mine to 2048 in 2022, which included the approval to extract an additional 444 million tonnes of coal. The Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group is now appealing a Land and Environment Court decision to reject the group's request for a judicial review. President Wendy Wales says the impacts on the climate were not properly considered.

Plans for old coal mine: Plans to extract unused old coal at a mothballed Lake Macquarie mine are gaining momentum. The Newstan mine has been in care and maintenance mode for a decade, but now its owner Centennial Coal wants to access hundreds of thousands of tonnes of washery rejects. The coal will be used to power the Eraring Power Station and would be transported by on-site haulage roads. Last year the state government struck a deal with Origin Energy to keep Eraring operating for an extra two years to 2027.

Pasture dieback warning: Hunter landowners are being warned to monitor their pastures after a condition deadly to some grasses has been found in the region for the first time. Pasture dieback is a condition that kills summer-growing grasses like kikuyu. It has previously only been found in Queensland and northern New South Wales.

It might sound unconventional, but the combo of rice, mince and cheese is anything but unusual across the world and the flavours are comforting and nostalgic.

ABC Newcastle acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.