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Sydney flood clean up begins but water still rising in the north

Thousands of residents in Sydney's west have returned home to begin the post-flood clean up, however the freak weather event is still wreaking havoc in the north.

Floodwaters are still rising in the NSW Hunter region, putting pressure on residents and emergency services.

A 72-year-old woman is lucky to be alive after her car was trapped in floodwaters up to her neck.

EXPLAINER: How do I get flood recovery payments? Your questions answered

Police rescued a woman from a car in Kempsey, NSW in the floods.

She was in her SUV when it was swept away in floodwaters 15km north of Kempsey on the Mid North Coast of NSW at 2pm yesterday.

The car became wedged against trees and she was unable to get out.

She managed to call triple zero, and a police officer, attached by a safety line to a police 4WD, waded into the water.

After getting the door open, he and other officers got her back to dry land.

The woman was treated for hypothermia and exhaustion at Kempsey Hospital.

Flooding next to the Pacific Highway in Bulahdelah.

"It was a situation that had really shaken her and caused her quite some distress," Sergeant Brad Smith said.

This is just one of the hundreds of flood rescues emergency services have carried out as the extreme weather event takes its toll on communities.

A 10-month-old boy was rescued with his mum from their flooded property in Bulga late yesterday by Surf Life Savers.

"To be able to do our part successfully and get the patients to the ambulance was a pretty humbling experience," Surf Life Saver Lee Archer said.

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Floodwaters in Singleton

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet paid tribute to volunteers helping those caught in the flood crisis.

He also expressed his frustration at people driving through floodwaters.

"Of the 50 rescues that have occurred in the last 24 hours, a number of those rescues are still people in vehicles, driving through floodwaters," Perrottet said.

"Please don't make an assessment that you can get through the flood waters."

He even lent a helping hand to the clean up efforts in the Hawkesbury.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Emergency Services Minister Stephanie Cooke help with the clean-up at Enzo Cucina, Camden in Sydney's south west.

Rainfall eases but residents warned about returning home

At least 36 evacuation warnings remain in place across NSW with authorities warning the wild weather may be easing but floodwaters are still high.

"If those evacuation warnings are in place, please get ready to evacuate," Perrottet said.

"If those orders are in place, please leave as soon as you can."

The current evacuation warnings affect 60,000 people across NSW.

Floodwaters in Singleton

The Bureau of Meteorology said up to 300 millimetres of rain was recorded over the past 24 hours, particularly on the Mid North Coast.

For some residents, they are able to return to their flood-damaged homes today but NSW Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke has asked people to take caution.

"The flooding emergency is winding down, the recovery efforts are winding up," she said.

"The SES has conducted near on 800 rapid damage assessments in the past 24 hours."

Low-lying parts of Singleton are inundated by flood waters.

She warned people not to engage in risky behaviour in an effort to dry out their homes.

"Please keep your clothes at least a metre away from your heaters," Cooke said.

"Please don't use outdoor heating equipment and outdoor cooking equipment inside.

"There are carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide risks.

"We want to avoid any tragedy on top of the heartache we've already experienced."

Disaster payments will be available from today, and thousands are still under evacuation orders in Sydney's north-west.

READ MORE: Which Sydney suburbs need to conserve water after freak weather

Low-lying parts of Singleton are inundated by flood waters along the Hunter River.

Weather set to improve in the coming days

Meteorologists said the weather chaos has eased with floodwaters in Sydney's north west and the Hunter region expected to continue to decrease in the coming days.

"Good news for the Singleton is that it's likely we'll see the river levels decrease," meteorologist Diana Eadie said.

"That being said, Maitland is still at risk and we could see major flooding at 10.5 metres.

"And the good news is in terms of looking ahead, while those river level conditions will only slowly start to lower, it does look likely that we're not going to see a return of those significant rainfall totals in the days ahead."

Some showers are forecast for Sunday, but the bureau is not expecting any heavy falls in NSW over the next week.

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Fresh alarms raised by security experts about Chinese espionage

The head of the FBI and the leader of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency raised fresh alarms on Wednesday about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain.

FBI Director Christopher Wray reaffirmed longstanding concerns in denouncing economic espionage and hacking operations by China as well as the Chinese government’s efforts to stifle dissent abroad.

But his speech was notable because it took place at MI5’s London headquarters and alongside the agency’s director-general, Ken McCallum, in an intended show of Western solidarity.

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Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Christopher Wray

The remarks also showed the extent to which Wray and the FBI regard the Chinese government as not only a law enforcement and intelligence challenge, but are also attuned to the implications of Beijing's foreign policy actions.

“We consistently see that it’s the Chinese government that poses the biggest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by ‘our,’ I mean both of our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere,” Wray said.

McCallum said the Chinese government and its “covert pressure across the globe” amounts to “the most game-changing challenge we face".

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“This might feel abstract. But it’s real and it’s pressing,” he said.

“We need to talk about it. We need to act.”

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, rejected the allegations from the Western leaders, saying in an emailed statement to The Associated Press that China “firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyber attacks” and calling the accusations groundless.

“We will never encourage, support or condone cyber attacks,” the statement said.

In a nod to current tensions between China and Taiwan, Wray also said during his speech that any forcible takeover of Taipei by Beijing would “would represent one of the most horrific business disruptions the world has ever seen".

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Xi Jinping has been president of China since 2013.

Last week, the US government’s director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, said at an event in Washington that there were no indications Chinese President Xi Jinping was poised to take Taiwan by military force. But she did say that Xi appeared to be “pursuing the potential” for such an action as part of a broader Chinese government goal of reunification of Taiwan.

After the appearance with his British counterpart, Wray said that he would leave to others the question of whether an invasion of Taiwan was more or less likely after Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. But, he said, “I don’t have any reason to think their interest in Taiwan has abated in any fashion" and added that he hoped China had learned what happens “when you overplay your hand,” as he said the Russians have done in Ukraine.

The FBI director said there are signs the Chinese, perhaps drawing lessons from Russia’s experience since the war, have looked for ways to “insulate their economy” against potential sanctions.

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“In our world, we call that behaviour a clue,” said Wray, who throughout his speech urged caution from Western companies looking to do business in or with China. He said Western investments in China could collapse in the event of an invasion of Taiwan.

“Just as in Russia, Western investments built over years could become hostages, capital stranded (and) supply chains and relationships disrupted,” he said.

President Joe Biden said in May that the US would respond militarily if China invaded Taiwan, offering one of the most forceful White House statements in support of Taiwan’s self-governing in decades.

The White House later tried to soften the impact of the statement, saying Biden was not outlining a change in US policy toward Taiwan, a self-governing island that China views as a breakaway province that should be reunified with the mainland.

The embassy spokesman said the Taiwan issue was “purely China’s internal affair” and said when it comes to questions of China’s territory and sovereignty, the country has "no room for compromise or concession".

“We will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts,” the statement said, though it noted that China will “reserve the option of taking all necessary measures in response to the interference of foreign forces".