A major effort will be needed to repair about 1,000 homes and other property damaged in a freak hailstorm that lashed the northern NSW city of Armidale.
The city has been declared a natural disaster area following the storm that hammered its eastern quarter for about 20 minutes on Thursday afternoon.
The storm left a trail of destruction in its wake, with homes unroofed, windows smashed, cars damaged, trees stripped of foliage and glass from broken window strewn about the streets.
Some of the homes suffered only minor damage such as wet carpets and broken windows, not requiring a State Emergency Service (SES) call-out.
But the SES received about 195 calls for assistance to repair homes and more than 100 SES volunteers, Rural Fire Service volunteers, police and council staff worked through the night to help residents.
The Insurance Council has advised policyholders in Armidale to contact their insurance providers immediately, so that their claims can be assessed as quickly as possible.
The council's chief executive, Kerrie Kelly, said insurers were working hard to assess the damage as quickly as possible to facilitate a speedy recovery.
©AAP 2006
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