Key Points
- NSW and Victoria brace for another weather event on Sunday
- VICSES says flooding to continue along the Murray River in November
- Weatherzone claims Sydney is having its wettest October in 165 years
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet extended his condolences to the family of a 28-year-old woman whose body was recovered from floodwaters in the state's Central West Monday morning.
The deceased was travelling in a car that was washed away at Gulgong, about 30 km north of Mudgee, on Sunday.
Premier Perrottet urged residents not to drive through floodwaters.
"People are losing their lives because they're not heeding the warnings," he said at a press conference.
The premier said NSW SES received 482 requests for assistance overnight, including 37 flood rescues.
NSW was battered by heavy rain over the weekend that led to flash flooding at several places across the state.
Dubbo, Lismore, Gunnedah and Moree were among the worst affected areas.
"Places like Moree – we are seeing places in areas of New South Wales that haven’t seen floods like these in 100 years. And so it is a difficult time. It is going to take time as well for the floodwaters to recede and the clean-up," Premier Perrottet said.
Authorities have closed Griffith Airport for safety reasons. The local council reported nearly 66 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours to 9am AEDT.
The Bureau of Meteorology said a new low-pressure system is expected to hit NSW over the weekend. However, the weather conditions are expected to ease mid-week.
Flood conditions are slightly easing in Victoria, but VICSES Chief Operations Officer Tim Wiebusch said the state is still in a flood emergency at the moment.
Bureau's Senior Meteorologist Kevin Parkyn said about 30 mm of rain fell at Echuca and Kerang, and this was already on top of the major flooding that is occurring in these areas.
Mr Parkyn said the bureau is expecting more rain and thunderstorm activity across the state.
"Fortunately, the severe weather warning with heavy rainfall has been lifted," he said.
"But we are concerned that thunderstorm activity will develop much more likely today that will produce localised falls of 30-60 mm. And if it does, those local heavy falls will result in flash flooding, overland flash flooding."
The major flood watch is still in place for the Murray River.
Mr Parkyn said another weather event is expected on Tuesday, and it is likely to bring rain to Gippsland, a region extending from Melbourne's eastern suburbs to the NSW border.
He said all this rainfall could make the 10th wettest October for Victoria and the wettest for north Victoria.
Mr Wiebush said communities (Swan Hill to Robinvale all the way through Mildura) along the Murray River should start to prepare for flooding and watch out for flood warnings.
He said major flooding is expected in Swan Hill in the first week of November.
Mr Wiebusch said water levels may have peaked at Kerang and Echuca along the NSW border.
The Murray river at Kerang is at 77.88m Australian Height Datum (AHD) and is " likely to remain steady around that level for the next four to five days before it starts to recede".
The river was 94.9m AHD at Echuca Weir, which is expected to be the peak.
"We may see a very small rise above that. But it's intended to stay steady at that level for several days before we'll start to see it receding in and around Echuca," he said.
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