75 per cent of NSW flood threatened

Almost 1700 people have been forced to leave their homes across NSW, as 75 per cent of the state is under water or threatened by flooding.

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It was another busy night for the NSW State Emergency Service (SES), as they made 11 flood rescues and were hit with 99 calls for help on Thursday evening and into Friday morning.

Horses got caught in flooded paddocks and people were stranded in their homes, while a heavy dump of water forced 100 residents to be evacuated in the far south coast town of Bega.

In the nearby Towamba area, 367 people are isolated following the closure of the Princes Highway and some 900 residents in the Snowy Mountains town of Cooma are still unable to return home.

Another 600 people in Goulburn and 60 people in the central west town of Cowra have also been evacuated.

Overnight, the SES door-knocked 23 homes in the town of Canowindra in central NSW.

"We have actually been a little bit fortunate overnight in that rain did ease slightly; it's been a welcome relief," NSW SES spokesman Andrew Richards told AAP on Friday.

"Having said that, we are still on the alert that more rain will fall over the weekend."

Despite earlier predictions that the Warragamba Dam - currently at more than 94 per cent capacity - was set to spill overnight, it is now believed that it will overflow sometime on Friday.

The Sydney Catchment Authority said 127,000 megalitres were pouring into the water body daily.

Once the dam does spill, the water will put added pressure on the already swollen Murrumbidgee, Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers.

Mr Richards said they are expecting moderate flooding along some of the low-lying areas, similar to that experienced in the February 1992 floods.

Locals have been advised to keep children home from school on Friday to avoid problems associated with what is likely to be moderate flooding in the Nepean Hawkesbury Valley.

The flooding is likely to close the Richmond and Windsor bridges late on Friday or early on Saturday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

"Some schools around the area will be closed and for other parents, they should perhaps consider keeping their children at home," Mr Richards said.

He also warned residents against complacency, with many of the requests from help overnight coming from the Sydney Metropolitan area.

"Don't drive or walk through floodwaters."

A severe weather warning remains for much of the state and patchy rain is predicted for Friday, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said.

"There are strong indications that southern districts on and west of the ranges will again be affected by heavy rain during Saturday and Sunday."





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Source: AAP


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