Heavy rainfall overnight concentrated on the Penrith region has seen the Nepean-Hawkesbury River rapidly rise this morning.
The river is expected to reach a peak of 9.8 metres at Penrith by 9pm tonight – the highest floodwaters since the floods of 1961.
“To give you some context around that, it is bigger than the February 2020 flood, it is bigger than the 1988 flood, it is bigger than the 1990 flood and it is bigger than the 1964 flood,” the Bureau of Meteorology’s Justin Robinson said
“It is one of the biggest floods we are likely to see for a very long time.”
Mr Robinson said the Bureau was “very concerned” about flooding across the whole Nepean Valley.
He noted that predictions on flood peaks remained difficult, with the situation “dynamic and constantly changing”.
If flood levels reach 10 metres or more, large areas of Sydney including Emu Plains and suburbs along the Nepean River will be heavily affected.
A major flooding warning is currently in place for communities along the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond.
Major flooding is also possible at Penrith and Lower Portland, while a moderate flood warning is in place along the Nepean River at Menangle and Wallacia during Sunday.
Mr Robinson urged affected communities to stay up-to-date with evacuation and flood warnings and heed all emergency advice.
“The river levels are still rising and we expect to see those river levels peak later today,” he said.
NSW SES’s Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey described the conditions as a “serious, potential life-threatening weather event” as he urged affected residents to heed flood warnings and evacuation orders.
NSW SES’s Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey described the conditions as a “serious, potential life-threatening weather event” as he urged affected residents to heed flood warnings and evacuation orders.
He urged everyone in impacted communities to avoid unnecessary travel, with landslips causing treacherous conditions on the roads.
SES volunteers have now responded to 7,000 calls for assistance and that was “increasing exponentially by the hour.”
Warragamba Dam spills, parts of Western Sydney ready to evacuate
There have been over 650 flood rescues conducted, most of them to rescue people from cars trapped in floodwaters.
This content first appear on 9news