Six new evacuation orders are now in effect for parts of the Hawkesbury, with locals being ordered to leave immediately.

The new orders will cover all parts of Cornwallis and Pitt Town Bottoms, as well as parts of Ebenezer, Pitt Town, Cattai and eastern parts of the Richmond Lowlands.

Earlier Sunday, a series of full or partial evacuation orders were also issued, affecting parts of Pleasure Point, the Bents Basin area, parts of Wallacia, parts of Woronora, parts of Camden, parts of Moorebank, parts of Chipping Norton and Warwick Farm , parts of Liverpool, parts of Lansvale and Georges Hall on Beatty Parade.

Residents of several suburbs in and around Sydney were told to leave their homes at night as a monster storm swept across the city, with predictions of a total of three feet of rain could fall.

Forecasters have said the worst weather is yet to come with an East Coast Low closing in close to shore on Sunday and lasting Monday.

The outlook now is that the East Coast Low will have multiple centers, which could amplify its impact.

“There are countless threats,” said Sky News Weather senior meteorologist Tom Saunders.

“There is torrential rain, the risk of major flooding, landslides and damaging winds that can topple trees and lead to property damage and power cuts.”

Major Floods in North Richmond

Major flooding is occurring in North Richmond, with river levels as high as the catastrophic flood of March.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, North Richmond rose as much as 10 meters from midnight to Sunday afternoon.

The river level in the Nepean River near Menangle has reached the flood height reached during the March 2022 flood – 15.92 meters – and peaked slightly below the April 2022 flood height of 16.83 meters.

The latest information shows that the Nepean River at Camden Weir has risen to 12.57 meters, while the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond has WPS recorded 13.1 meters.

Meanwhile, the Hawkesbury River at Sackville rises at 4.38m and the Macdonald River at St Albans rises steadily at 0.26m.

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‘Life-threatening emergency’

Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke has warned that NSW is now facing a “life-threatening emergency” as flooding wreaks havoc.

The warning comes after the Warragamba Dam spilled around 2 a.m. last night, “well ahead of forecasts”.

At a news conference on Sunday morning, Ms Cooke said the disaster was caused by an East Coast low-level weather system that was developing offshore and is expected to last for several days.

“This means more torrential rain, it means strong damaging winds and it means coastal erosion in Sydney, the Central Coast, the South Coast and the Illawarra,” she warned.

“We now face dangers on multiple fronts… If you live somewhere between Newcastle and Batemans Bay, don’t let the current weather conditions surprise you.

“This is a life-threatening emergency. If you know that your local community is prone to flooding, be prepared to evacuate and at short notice.”

‘Extremely dangerous there’

At the same press conference this morning, Carlene York, NSW emergency services commissioner, said lives could be lost.

“It is extremely dangerous there. Stay out of the floodwaters and we always warn you not to drive through floodwaters and especially not to walk through them or let children play near them,” she said.

“There is no room for the rain to stay in the dams, and they are starting to spill. The rivers flow quickly and dangerously and then there is the risk of flash flooding depending on where the rainfall is.

“There are many risks that the community should be aware of, and I ask you to heed the warning.”

Aussies rescued in dramatic scenes

Thousands of residents of southwestern Sydney have been ordered to evacuate their homes, and the SES received more than 1,400 calls for help overnight after dozens of rescue efforts on Saturday.

In one incident, a young woman was rescued after water clung to a tree in Holsworthy for over an hour.

On Sunday morning, the Hawkesbury Flood Statistics Unit reported that the river in North Richmond was “rising at a rate of nearly 1.5 meters per hour” as a result of “massive inflow from the Grose River combined with the floodwaters of the Nepean”.

The bridge has since been closed and the nearby Windsor Bridge is likely to close in the next few hours.

Meanwhile, the federal government has announced that 100 armed forces and two helicopters are standing by to assist NSW as the situation unfolds, with Defense Secretary Richard Marles confirming that the government was on the “vanguard” as flash floods threaten.

Authorities have begged motorists not to drive on flooded roads – one of the leading causes of death after extreme rainfall.

Overnight, the State Emergency Service issued a number of emergency evacuations or prepared to evacuate posts in the west, south west and south of Sydney.

Suburbs at risk of flooding include Wallacia, Camden, Lansvale, Woronora and parts of the local government area of ​​Liverpool. Parts of Richmond, to the northwest of the city, are also aware.

That’s because of the rain pouring into the already swollen rivers Hawkesbury and Nepean on the outskirts of Sydney.

SES: ‘You may be stuck’

Many suburbs are in danger of being completely shut down, the SES said early Sunday.

“You could be stuck without power, water and other essential supplies and it could be too dangerous to save you,” the organization warned.

Emergency evacuation centers have been set up in Narellan and Canley Vale.

Rainfall totals around Sydney and the Illawarra region are immense.

By 5 a.m. Sunday, Holsworthy, in Sydney’s south-west, had seen more than 200mm of rain since 9 a.m. Saturday.

Lucas Heights, in the south of the city, surpassed that by 215mm. Areas near Wollongong have seen nearly 170mm and 150mm have fallen in the southern highlands.

The system is currently offshore, but will steadily move closer as Sunday progresses.

“It will be a complex nadir meaning there will be more than one centre,” said Mr Saunders.

“One of the main centers could be near the NSW Central Coast on Sunday evening and Monday morning.

“If that were to happen, we would not only have to deal with heavy rain, but also damaging winds on the south side of the system.

“We could see gusts of wind up to about 100 kilometers per hour and with very wet soils, trees could be uprooted.”

Half a meter of rain possible

Sydney could see 80-150mm of rain on Sunday and another 40mm on Monday. It won’t be much different in Wollongong.

Mr Saunders said some areas could get as much as 500mm of rain during the multi-day event – that’s half a meter of moisture coming down.

However, the direction of these systems can change, meaning the area of ​​the heaviest falls can change.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for heavy rains, damaging winds, flash flooding and heavy surf along New Zealand’s coast from Newcastle to Ulladulla.

NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York said that because dams and rivers were already full, there was “significant” concern about what’s to come for communities across the state.

“This significant downpour could have major impacts on communities from Port Stephens to Batemans Bay, so we are preparing and putting out community notices letting them know they are in some of these high-risk areas and ready.”

Queensland to get soaked

Widespread rain continues in Queensland. After easing on Saturday, it should start bubbling again on Sunday with the heaviest falls early in the week.

Over the northern parts of the coast, rain totals of 100mm are on the map.

Townsville will see some showers as the weekend progresses, but Monday will bring it down, with 40-60mm forecast, and more of the same for Tuesday.

Brisbane should be mostly dry on Sunday. But there could be showers again on Tuesday. The other capitals will have a very different weekend with Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart all remaining dry and partly cloudy with nearly uniform mid-teen highs.

Darwin will see some blue skies with maximums of 29C. But it’s Perth that will be gloriously sunny, with relatively mild temperatures as low as 20C.