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Forecasters have issued a severe weather warning for large parts of NSW, sparking fears of a fresh emergency.

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Large parts of the NSW Mid North Coast remain submerged as authorities warned overnight floodwaters were yet to peak.

People in Kempsey were woken just before midnight to be told by the SES to evacuate immediately.

"The Macleay River expected to burst banks any minute. Very nervous time for businesses and residents here," 9News Grace Fitzgibbon said.

READ MORE: Thousands in Sydney brace for record-breaking flood

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Hundreds already forced to flee their homes face a long wait before they can take stock of any damage, with NSW SES warning some rivers across the region will not reach their peaks until today.

Whole communities are temporarily homeless after evacuating their residences in the past 24 hours, with hundreds of people taking shelter just in the Laurieton United Services Club in Port Macquarie alone.

On the outskirts of Taree, Fire and Rescue crews carried diver flippers and used Surf Life Saving rubber duckies to move from property to property, trying to reach people who had become isolated or trapped.

READ MORE: Evacuations ordered in Greater Sydney

READ MORE: Flood operations being planned 'well past Easter'

There were more than 131 flood rescues, including a group of people plucked by a helicopter winch from a house that is now an island.

Since the start of the weather event until about 10pm last night, the NSW SES received 8364 requests for assistance, 751 of those being flood rescues.

In the past 24 hours, there have been 2743 requests for assistance, with 197 flood rescues.

In the small town of Kendall, north of Taree, café owner Jenelle Nosworthy has seen her business ruined, with the windows of Miss Nellie's Café pushed violently aside by the rushing waters.

"It's beyond devastating but I just can't comprehend it at the moment, I can't take it in," she told 9News.

Homeowner and retiree Pamela has seen her recent renovations ruined as well.

READ MORE: Floods, landslides see roads closed across NSW

"We've still got each other, it's only stuff," she said.

"It can be replaced."

Farmers have resorted to desperate measures to keep their stock alive, one even taking to a kayak to hold their animals' heads above water.

READ MORE: More NSW communities cut off

Volunteers have even begun freighting feed by boat to properties with stranded livestock.

"The farmer was quite concerned, so we're dropping some food off for the cattle," NSW SES volunteer Jack Frost said.

The grieving sister of a mother-of-four who died in a suspected murder-suicide in Auckland says family buried her with her alleged killer for the sake of the children. Toakase Finau, 29, was found dead at a Pukekohe property on…