Flood Warnings on East Coast as Clean up Begins in NSW

Residents confer beside a boulder which came loose after a landslide cut off Lawrence Hargrave Drive at Coalcliff in Wollongong, Australia, on April 6, 2024, after heavy rain lashed the eastern coast, causing flash flooding and a string of emergency warnings up and down the Pacific coast. Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

Several Sydney communities have been flooded following intense downpours, as southeast Queensland braces for heavy rain.

Further river rises and moderate to major flooding is expected along the Hawkesbury River, northwest of Sydney, into Sunday morning after the week ended with 200mm across much of the catchment.

The river was expected to peak above the major flooding level at North Richmond on Sunday morning, albeit two metres below the peaks reached in major floods in 2021 and 2022.

More than 107 warnings were in place late on Saturday night, with 32 emergency alerts still in place on Sunday morning.

The rain on Friday and Saturday earlier caused landslips, flash flooding and a house in Wollongong to be swept into a creek.

Witnesses reported seeing two people emerge from the mangled home in Mount Keira.

Investigations on Sunday will also continue into the death of a man found in water in Penrith.

The man, whose death was not attributed to a cause, was located by a passer-by about 7.30 a.m. on Saturday.

New South Wales (NSW) State Emergency Services Chief Superintendent Dallas Burnes said while the flood threat was easing, there were 352 homes affected by evacuation orders.

“We have seen the highest peak and we’re now following that water downstream and making sure we warn the communities in its path,” Mr. Burnes told Nine’s Weekend Today.

“The clean-up [will be] significant ... you can’t stop a flood, it’s not like a fire where you can send appliances and defend a dwelling—we’ve really just got to make sure we get people and their livestock out of harms way.”

Cloudy conditions and scattered showers are forecast for the hardest-hit areas on Sunday, including Sydney and Wollongong.

The weather system’s final hurrah was expected to hit the northeast of the state, as the coastal trough brought thunderstorms, possibly severe on Sunday.

Meanwhile, heavy rain is expected to drench parts of Queensland on Sunday, with up to 200mm tipped to fall in the southeast.

A major flood warning is in place for Warrego River in the state’s southwest.

Flood warnings are also in place for Eyre Creek, Weir River, Balonne River, Moonie River and Norman River.

Both the Nindooinbah and Moogerah dams, more than 100km west of the Gold Coast, have started spilling excess water.