Thousands of residents have been evacuated while others have been warned to prepare to leave after a massive downpour in NSW this weekend.
More than 100 flood warnings remained in force for towns along the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers on Sunday morning after Friday’s monstrous deluge.
Thousands of residents in Sydney’s west and northwest have been evacuated, while 146 have been rescued from flooding since Saturday morning.
Floods are expected to peak on Sunday before subsiding after clouds part over the weekend with little rain expected until Tuesday.
NSW’s State Emergency Service (SES) is now carrying out crucial damage assessments across the state, with a number of properties damaged or now classified as ‘non-inhabitable’.
Thousands of residents in Sydney’s northwest have been evacuated and more than 140 rescued after floodwaters along the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers peaked on Saturday.
There were major concerns for the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers after the Warragamba Dam overflowed on Saturday morning.
The dam allowed 200 gigalitres of water to flow downstream into the system every hour.
The Hawkesbury River peaked at 10.52 meters at North Richmond, in Sydney’s far northwest, about 9pm on Saturday, causing major flooding.
Those levels fell to 8.98 meters early on Sunday and are expected to fall below the moderate flood level of 7.9 meters on Sunday, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said.
Floodwaters at Windsor, just upstream, are above the moderate flood level at 9.35 meters and are expected to remain stable throughout the week.
Meanwhile, the Hawkesbury Rivers near Lower Portland continue to rise and are expected to breach the minor flood level of 4.6 metres.
Minor flooding has rapidly receded across the Nepean River, peaking at 8.58 meters at Menangle Bridge on Saturday evening and falling to 3.96 meters on Sunday morning.
Hawkesbury Mayor Sarah McMahon said the community is now stuck waiting for the waters to recede.
“Potentially, our farmers, homeowners and residents in the lowlands will have to see if their properties and their businesses are affected,” she said.
Other communities have begun the grueling clean-up task after Friday’s deluge led to flash flooding on NSW’s east coast (pictured)
The heavy downpour has caused a mess on the street and everything in it (photo: a car in Wollongong)
NSW SES Chief Inspector Scott McLennan said the agency is working to support the community.
“We are working on a series of alerts as the situation changes,” he said.
‘As the crests of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River pass overnight, we will start to see the gradual decline of the river and debris starting to move downstream.
“(Sunday) will be more about supporting communities that have become isolated.”
The SES is carrying out damage assessments across the northern beaches of the Illawarra and Sydney after a number of properties were damaged during the deluge.
The agency said 20 properties were damaged by flooding in the Illawarra, six of which are now uninhabitable.
SES crews will also continue to carry out patrols in flood-affected areas and isolated communities before assessing damage to the Hawkesbury and Nepean.