Almost 50,000 residents have been left isolated, while hundreds more have been rescued, as a once-in-a-500-year flooding event inundates towns across the Hunter and mid-north coast regions of New South Wales.
A coastal trough is slowly moving over the area, bringing moderate to heavy rain to several towns and prompting stay-at-home orders in some communities.
More than 400 rescues were undertaken on Wednesday alone, including in Coffs Harbour and Taree, where the Manning River broke the record of six metres set in 1929, before plateauing towards noon.
Record-breaking floods in Taree came from a staggering 412mm of rain in two days.
"(That) is essentially five times the monthly rainfall for May for Taree," the Bureau of Meteorology's Steve Bernasconi said.
"In essence, it's received one-third of its average annual rainfall in two days."
More than 100 warnings were in place late on Wednesday after falls of up to 280mm in some areas.
"For those people waiting to be rescued, we know this takes time. We are working on it. It is a priority and we ask you to be patient," Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib told reporters on Wednesday.
"We have seen images of people on roofs. You are the absolute priority."
Residents on the NSW mid-north coast are battling rising rivers after being deluged by rain. Source: AAP / Michael Dowling
The bulk of rescues were in Taree, Wingham, and Glenthorne, including several cars caught driving into floodwater.
Many people reported water rising into their homes as the night progressed, with some needing to seek refuge on their roofs, the SES said.
Another 200mm to 300mm may fall in the next two days, impacting the Coffs Coast and northern tablelands.
Some northern catchments are already saturated after being impacted by Cyclone Alfred in March.
"What we had 24 hours ago was in the Hunter area, then the mid-north coast and is slowly moving into the northeast," NSW SES Commissioner Mike Wassing said.
A stay-indoors message was issued for elevated inland parts of the mid-north coast, including Bowraville and the outskirts of Coffs Harbour.
Six-hourly rainfall totals between 100mm and 140mm were possible through the day, the SES warned.
In the state's Hunter region, the Myall River is among the areas on flood watch, with local residents warned to monitor forecasts and rainfall and be ready to move to higher ground.
For Ray, a cleaner at Bulahdelah's Plough Inn Hotel, the rising river has already caused damage.
"My houseboat went," Ray told AAP.
"I was looking across the jetty [on Tuesday] morning and it wasn't there."
The SES warned Bulahdelah residents to evacuate some areas on Tuesday afternoon.
Rain is expected to continue into the weekend amid the multi-day flood event.
Taree copped more than 267mm of rain across Monday and Tuesday, among some of the heaviest falls from the system.
