The Bureau of Meteorology has warned more wet weather is set to hit NSW today in a "large and widespread" event that has already seen hundreds forced to flee their homes for higher ground.
Thousands in western Sydney were in limbo overnight, many forced to flee their homes and others on standby as authorities warned rivers were continuing to rise and were expected to break flood records.
The SES issued at least 10 evacuation orders impacting residents in Greater Sydney, as the Hawkesbury and Napean rivers continue to rise. Streets in Penrith and Windsor already resembled canals late on Sunday as people left their homes for higher ground.
READ MORE: 'Beyond devastating': Large parts of Mid North Coast under water
Residents in other suburbs faced a sleepless night amid warnings to be prepared to evacuate immediately. Just before midnight, the SES was door-knocking in the Kempsey CBD telling people to evacuate as the town flooded sooner than was anticipated, 9News reporter Grace Fitzgibbon says.
The SES warned a peak was not expected for the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers in Greater Sydney's west until today.
"Major flooding is occurring along the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond where the river level is rising. Flooding is likely to be higher than any floods since Nov 1961," NSW SES said.
And for a state already in crisis, the Bureau of Meteorology warned last night that more drenching weather was on the way.
"While major flooding is occurring in Sydney's west, it's also important to be aware this is a large & widespread event," the bureau said on Twitter.
"Western NSW will see increased rain from Monday & many areas will see more rain on Tuesday."
https://twitter.com/gracefitz_9/status/1373612605508444172
Rescues as residents told to leave
Residents were evacuating in large parts of Western Sydney throughout yesterday, with wide-ranging SES orders including for Penrith, Mulgoa, Windsor, Jamisontown and North Richmond.
Some streets in Penrith were already submerged, with people seen traversing the roads in watercraft amid the evacuations.
Hawkesbury residents have been warned the flooding in the area could eclipse the 1961 disaster, with a prediction the river could reach 15.6m by Monday afternoon and continue to rise.
A group of 10 people had to be rescued by helicopter after a home became an island at Freemans Reach in the Hawkesbury.
https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1373590095090089985
Police rescued a woman moments before her car was washed off a road at Wyong yesterday.
The 80-year-old's Hyundai Getz was "pushed sideways due to the fast-flowing water" and was spotted by two officers who had arrived at the scene for an unrelated matter.
One officer, an acting inspector, entered the water on foot and retrieved the woman before the car was swept away into the Wyong River.
READ MORE: Middle-of-the-night evacuations as more NSW communities cut off
Inmates in Sydney's west were forced to shift prisons "for their safety" yesterday. Corrective Services said in a statement 35 minimum security female inmates from Emu Plains Correctional Centre and 15 minimum security female inmates from Bolwara Transitional Centre had been moved to Dillwynia Correctional Centre.
A further 25 female and male inmates at Amber Laurel Correctional Centre were moved to holding cells at other Sydney correctional facilities.
In Windsor, residents gathered to watch the waters rise to meet the town's recently-built "flood-proof" bridge.
"It needs to be higher," one resident remarked.
There were also worries the masses of debris carried along by the surging waters could damage the structure.
READ MORE: Couple loses dog inside home swept away by floods
In other parts of the Hawkesbury, citrus farmers hurried to bring in what they could of their crops before the paddocks were swallowed up entirely.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said the Sydney floods are a once-in-50-years event, and warned that up to 4000 people could ultimately have to evacuate their homes.
Visit the SES website to stay up to date with evacuation warnings.