NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned that as many as 4000 more residents in the Greater Sydney area may have to evacuate as conditions worsen in the west and the Central Coast, just north of Sydney.
She said the flooding is very extreme and should be considered a one in 100-year event that hasn’t been seen since the 1960s.
Authorities hold concern for the Hawkesbury and Penrith areas as the Warragamba dam overflows.
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The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) and Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) has been activated to support those heavily affected by the storms and flooding.
The support is now available in the local government areas of Armidale, Bellingen, Central Coast, Cessnock City, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Dungog, Hawkesbury, Kempsey, Lake Macquarie, Maitland City, Mid-Coast, Nambucca Valley, Newcastle City, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Penrith, Port Stephens and Tenterfield.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised further Commonwealth support will be available when Berejikian decides to seek it.
“The NSW government has very competent agencies, very professional people who know how to manage these types of events, they’ve done it many times before, he said in a video posted to Facebook.
“We will stand there in support of them, as they need, through the defence forces and other agencies.
“These events are going to go on for some days, as the Premier has already outlined. This is a very complex weather system that is impacting on NSW at present over a very large area.
“One in 50 year floods in the Sydney metropolitan area, and of course one in 100 year floods in the mid-north coast. So this is a very serious storm and flood event, and there will be a big clean-up operation on the other side.”
NSW Police and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said he had signed 16 disaster declarations for parts of NSW to get assistance to them as soon as possible.
The disaster declarations relate to 16 local council areas, “primarily in the north”, according to Elliott.
“They will go from around the Hunter Valley as far as the north coast, just beyond Coffs Harbour,” he said.
“Those natural disaster declarations will be that residents affected by these floodwaters can begin to receive that assistance, councils can begin to receive that assistance.”
He said the declarations mean flood-affected residents can receive special assistance including low interest or zero interest loans for home damages, and subsidies for the movement of freight to evacuate livestock and agriculture.
The minister also said to watch out for state and federal packages coming out in the next few days to help these areas.
Berejiklian also had a warning for anyone who had not been affected by floods recently.
“Just because you did not have to do this (evacuate) in the last five years, please do not assume it will not happen to you,” she said.
“At this stage we anticipate a one in 50-year event. It is important for everybody to be on high alert.”
There have been 670 flood rescues and more than 6700 calls for assistance since the severe weather event started on Friday, March 19.
SES officers have made a number of rescues, as can be seen in the video below.
NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York said there had been no deaths yet.
She said there was a flood rescue on Sunday involving two teenagers at a dam.
“I take the opportunity to say don’t walk or play in floodwaters,” York told the media.
“It can be deceptive, you don’t know where the drains are that can suck you into the drain system, you don’t know what is down there.
“The water is often contaminated with contaminants as well as debris, snakes and wildlife in those areas, so wherever possible, stay out of that floodwater and that lets us go to those other people that need our assistance.”
The worst impacted areas in the next 6-12 hours will be the Mid North Coast, Blue Mountains and surrounds including western Sydney, parts of the Northern Rivers and Illawarra districts.
Sydney’s main water source, the Warragamba dam, started spilling over on Saturday afternoon, which has caused river levels to rise along the Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers.
Evacuation centres were established at Richmond Club and Bellingen Primary School just outside of Sydney.
In the Mid North Coast, emergency services have set up more than a dozen evacuation centres for low-lying homes.
Parts of Port Macquarie, and several nearby towns, have flooded and further south Taree is in the grip of a flood rivalling its worst on record 92 years ago.
The rain isn’t expected to ease up until Wednesday.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Justin Robinson said forecasters believed the Hawkesbury Nepean Valley would experience its worst flooding since 1961, with the spilling of a full Warragamba Dam prompting major concern.
Warragamba was hit by more than 150mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am on Sunday, and more than 250mm over the past four days.
People in low-lying areas in the Hawkesbury Nepean Valley have been told to protect homes by sandbagging doorways and clearing drains.
The Nepean River at Penrith could rise as high as 10 metres by 9pm, while the river at Richmond and Windsor would not peak until Monday.
Robinson said major flooding was already occurring at North Richmond.
Moderate flooding also continues along the Colo River, with farmers near the river told to be on alert and ready to move livestock.
“It is one of the biggest floods we are likely to see for a very long time ... floodwaters at Penrith are expected to then move downstream and impact those communities at North Richmond, Windsor, Sackville,” Mr Robinson said.
Elsewhere, the Sydney CBD was drenched by 110mm of rain over the same 24-hour period, while 120mm hit Hornsby and 168mm reached Katoomba.
- With AAP
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