Residents in northern NSW are being warned to prepare for heavy rain and strong winds as wild weather returns to the region.
But the Bureau of Meteorology does not expect the same severe conditions as last week, which led to the deaths of four people.
Strong winds and more than 350 millimetres of rain are predicted to fall near Tweed Heads, Lismore, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie between Wednesday and Saturday night, with the most intense bucketing expected on Friday.
The State Emergency Service wants residents to prepare for the worst.
"They need to think, `What to do if'," an SES spokesman told AAP.
He said residents should make sure they had enough provisions, including medication, non-perishable food and torches.
The SES has responded to most of the 21,000 calls for help they received last week, with just 2100 remaining.
More than half of the remaining calls are from the Hunter region, where the four people died during intense flooding, gale-force winds and hail.
The SES says this week's predicted rainfall will hamper recovery efforts if it moves further south but, at this stage, the Bureau of Meteorology does not expect that to happen.
Thunderstorms are possible along the coast north of Sydney, which could lead to localised heavy rain.
Flood watches have been issued for several southeast Queensland river catchments and the NSW coastal rivers from the border to Taree.
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