article_snippet.sent: Mr Baird said 'areas such as Dungog and Maitland, parts of the Central Coast' would be declared natural disaster zones but a state of emergency would not be announced.
article_snippet.sent: The community of Dungog in the Hunter region is said to be in 'shock' after three residents who died in dangerous weather conditions on Tuesday were identified as Robyn McDonald, aged about 70, Colin Webb, 79, and Brian Wilson, 72, the Newcastle Herald reported.
highlights_snippet.sent: Dungog is one of the areas hardest hit in the state by what's being called the storm of the century .
  
highlights_snippet.sent: Three people have died in the severe weather and four houses were washed away .