Thousands of residents in New South Wales have been ordered to leave their homes as life-threatening floodwaters triggered a series of evacuation orders until the early hours of Saturday.
The State Emergency Service at 11pm told those on low-lying properties in Kempsey, north of Port Macquarie on the mid-north coast, to ‘evacuate the high danger area’ by midnight.
The late-night evacuation order for eastern parts of the regional town came amid fears the floodwaters could breach its levee and cut off road, internet and phone access.
In the hours before, low-lying properties on the Lower Macleay north of the town were ordered to evacuate as well as areas of Port Macquarie – a town home to almost 50,000 residents.
The focus of the wild downpours is expected to shift south towards Sydney where 120mm of rain is expected to fall on Saturday, adding pressure to the already at-capacity Warragamba Dam.
Port Macquarie (pictured) has receiving some of the worst flooding on Friday with the weather system to hit the greater Sydney area on Saturday
Communities in the Hawkesbury-Nepean area are expected to be at risk from a potential spill of Sydney’s biggest dam to the city’s west.
Western towns and suburbs including St Albans, Marsden Park, Richmond and Windsor are believed to be most at risk.
Residents there were warned to sandbank properties, move their livestock and be prepared to leave.
NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said there was ‘obviously a risk that the dam will spill over’, The Daily Telegraph reported.
An evacuation order was issued at 7pm on Friday night for low-lying properties on the Lower Macleay north of Kempsey to evacuate by 8.30pm.
Hours earlier low-lying areas of Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast were told to evacuate by 8pm as were North Haven, Laurieton, Camden Head and Dunbogan residents south of the city.
Rescue crews are pictured saving a group of people in a life raft on the mid-north coast. The focus of the wild downpours is expected to shift south towards Sydney
A late-night weather warning from the Bureau of Meteorology has warned of heavy rainfall, damaging winds and surf along a vast stretch of NSW coast including Sydney
The towns of Macksville and Kings Point near Nambucca Heads were placed on alert.
Authorities warn flash-flooding could be ‘life threatening’ with roads likely cut-off by the floodwaters and an increased risk of landslips.
Severe weather warnings have also been extended to Sydney, Illawarra, and the Blue Mountains regions with heavy rains, damaging winds and wild surf expected.
A landslip at Myers Bluff in Thora, New South Wales on Friday (pictured) caused a council car to be hit with debris but no-one was injured
Residents in parts of Port Macquarie (pictured) are being ordered to evacuate by 8pm tonight as flooding hits the NSW mid-north coast town
A huge weather system is battering Australia’s east coast with flash flooding and damaging winds expected into Saturday (pictured: a collapsed highway due to floodwater on Foreshore Drive in Corlette, NSW)
Surfers in Lennox Head, northern NSW, brave the wild weather and huge swells on Friday for a wave (pictured)
The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts the intense weather system will continue with areas between Kempsey and Bulahdelah in the mid-north coast of NSW copping the brunt on Friday night.
Newcastle, Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra region is forecast to be hit with torrential rain on Saturday as the system travels south.
Two thirds of the country is expected to receive a drenching over the next 48 hours including the Northern Territory.
The SES said they have already rescued 41 people from floodwaters in NSW since Thursday and repeated warnings against trying to cross flooded roads.
Up to 600mm of rain could fall in Coffs Harbour over the next 36 hours with meteorologists warning residents to expect ‘an absolute deluge’ as the 1,200km-long weather system moves gradually southwards towards Sydney.
One tram broke down inside a Sydney tunnel with people have to wade through water to get outside (pictured)
The Macksville Bridge (pictured) near Nambucca Heads in NSW was underwater early on FRiday night
Flash flooding is battering some parts of NSW (pictured) as a huge weather system moves slowly south towards Sydney
On Friday, the bureau recorded 303.5mm of rain at Seven Oaks and 225.8mm at Kempsey Airport.
Meteorologist Agata Imielska from the bureau said the rain was set to be ‘substantially heavier’ on Saturday in Sydney.
‘We are expecting widespread totals for the Greater Sydney area of around 100 millimeters,’ she said.
‘This will be the difference of potentially what will seem like maybe inconvenient rain to actually something that might be quite dangerous and threatening.
‘It’s really important for Sydneysiders to be mindful about reconsidering their plans due to potential changes to driving conditions.’
The Georges, Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers in the Sydney region are expected to rise from the floodwaters.
The Warraamgamba Dam, providing Sydney’s water supply, could be set to spill with 90mm of rain enough for the near full dam to open the floodgates.
The SES said they were in discussion with Water NSW and would be warned should the dam spill.
A landslide at Thora in New South Wales on Friday (pictured) caused by soaking rains
Up to 600mm of rain could fall in Coffs Harbour over the next 36 hours during the wild weather event
Sydney could see 50mm fall on Friday, before up to 100mm is dumped on the Harbour City on Saturday. Pictured: A cyclist rides through rain in Sydney’s CBD
The Hasting River at Long Flat (pictured left) broke its banks on Friday, while the road to Port Macquarie airport (pictured right) was completely underwater
A deluge of water cause paddocks to flood at Macksville (pictured) on Friday
Commuters heading into the city on Friday morning were met with flooding at Lewisham station, in Sydney’s inner west, as rain water soaked the entrance.
The morning commute was thrown into disarray thanks to the weather event.
Buses replaced metro services between Castle Hill and Tallawong due to a fallen overhead cable.
Emergency services have warned conditions will remain dangerous and are telling motorists to take ‘extreme care’ around flood warning areas.
The deluge is set to continue well into next week and could deliver the heaviest rainfall since February 2020, when Greater Sydney was hit.
The bureau said the low-pressure system was a ‘significant system’ bringing peak gusts of more than 90km/h.
The bureau has warned the ‘intense rainfall’ may lead to ‘life-threatening flash flooding’
Sky News Weather meteorologist Alison Osborne said there was some uncertainty about where the heaviest falls will be this weekend.
‘There is a risk of that flooding reaching Sydney and the rain spreading into northern and eastern parts of Victoria,’ she said.
She added there could be months’ worth of rain in outback NSW in the next few days, where a separate band of rain is moving eastwards from Western Australia.
Sydneysiders have been warned their city could be hit by flooding this weekend as a second band of heavy rainfall lashes the east coast
A severe weather warning is in place for the New South Wales mid-north coast where as much as 300mm is expected to fall in the next three days. Pictured: Freshwater Beach on Thursday
‘In the outback [where there is less rainfall] there could be many months worth of rain in the next few days,’ she said.
BoM meteorologist Helen Kirkup told Daily Mail Australia that weather system could bring about 60mm of rain to inland areas.
‘Isolated parts of the mid-north coast could get up to 200mm in a day – it’s not out of the question,’ she said.
Meteorologists have warned those living on the east coast to expect ‘an absolute deluge’ as the weather system moves gradually southwards towards the Harbour City
The eastern seabord of Australia is expected to cop a deluge in the coming days. A severe weather warning for heavy rainfall is now in place for the mid-north coast
A flood watch is already in place for the Orara, Bellinger and Nambucca Rivers in northern NSW.
‘Those river catchments require widespread rainfall to flood but we could see that flood watch upgraded to a warning in the coming days,’ Ms Kirkup said.
Sydney could see one of the heaviest days of rainfall periods in recent years, with some suburbs predicted to experience north of 100mm. Pictured: worker cleans a closed Freshwater rockpool on Thursday
The forecast is a different picture in other parts of the country, with neither Brisbane and Canberra expected to receive more than 20mm of rain a day into the weekend.
Melbourne will remain mostly dry as the thermostat reaches as high as 25C.
Adelaide residents will also escape the rain, with the next few days bringing sunshine and temperatures around 30C.
Hobart will be dry and sunny with days reaching around 25C.
Pictured: The severe weather warning in place in the mid-north coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales
Over on the other side of the country, Perth residents will sweat through the week with Friday soaring to tops of 38C and Saturday to 37C.
Darwin will be hot with high chances of thunderstorms and rainfall over the coming days.
Meanwhile Sydney will be drenched by up to 35mm of rain forecast for Friday and 50mm for Saturday
Thousands of Queenslanders have been urged to move to higher ground after the state was battered by heavy rainfall that’s expected to last for another week (pictured residents in Sunshine Coast)