Two police officers have been swept down a swollen river in NSW after they tried to rescue a man from the raging torrent, according to police.
The officers were called out to Queanbeyan River near Canberra just before midnight after a 43-year-old man jumped in the river and was swept downstream.
Police say a male constable went into the river and became entangled in a submerged fence while a female constable was also swept downstream. Both were safely retrieved from the water, local media reported.
The man was later found clinging to a tree another 500 metres downstream.
NSW DAM TO SPILL LATER FRIDAY OR SATURDAY
Meantime, locals northwest of Sydney are bracing for the worst flooding in two decades, when the Warrangamba Dam spills Friday or Saturday.
When the dam spills it's expected to result in some road closures and locals have been urged to stay at home on Friday.
Londonderry MP Bart Bassett said the situation seemed to be "a lot worse" than the two large floods he witnessed in 1990 and 1992.
In 1992, floodwaters reached 11 metres and caused extensive damages to homes, farms and business, including the subsequent closure of Windsor and Richmond bridges that lasted weeks.
Four years earlier, in April 1988, the townships were submerged in 12.65 metres of floodwater.
"It's been a while since I've last seen the floods in Wilberforce and I had to move the horses to higher ground," Mr Bassett said.
The SES has forecast moderate flooding in North Richmond and Windsor, including Pitt Town Bottoms, Grono's Point, Hobartville and Agnes Banks.
Mr Bassett on Friday commended the efforts of the SES and Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
"They have been working brilliantly to warn people early to move to higher ground, what to do with their properties, equipment and farm animals," he told AAP.
"We're ahead in terms of preparedness by the SES, meteorologists and the police to attend to the situation.
"A decade ago, weather forecasting wasn't as sophisticated regarding rainfall, satellite and weather radar capable of predicting how much rain we will have, when it will fall and what we must do."
Local Dominic Miller said he was feeling anxious about the forecast.
"We're not sure if we'd be able to work because they plan to close the bridges," said Mr Miller, a hardware shop assistant who lives in Ebenezer.
Brodie Symonson, 16, who attends Colo High School in North Richmond, said she planned on staying home from school.
His friend, 20-year-old David Tralaggan, said he hoped his Windsor home would be okay.
"Our house is on a higher ground so I don't think it'll go under even if the flood level goes up the 12 metres mark which they said is a danger," he said.
"A friend of mine was only about 10 years old when he saw a flood here and he's always shared the experience to us."
SOME REPRIEVE FOR GOULBURN, QUEANBEYAN AND WINDSOR TODAY
The dense, slow-moving rain band is lingering a little longer then expected as it moves up and down NSW, said BoM forecaster Julie Evans.
"The focus on the rainfall today is on the central ranges and central western plain, in places such as Mudgee and Dubbo," she said.
"The southern parts of Goulburn, Queanbeyan and Windsor will get a bit of a reprieve today.
"But we are expecting it to move back to the southern parts of the state over the weekend so people should stay on alert."
From 10mm and 30mm fell over the Sydney catchment overnight, with 50mm predicted to fall over coming days, she said.
Cobar and Bourke was likely to be hit by thunderstorms, with localised rainfall reaching 100mm, while Bathurst was expected to experience major flooding later on Friday.
The SES said it had responded to more than 100 calls for help and 22 flood rescues on Thursday night.
Over the last three days, more than 1600 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in Goulburn, Cowra, Cooma and Bega.
In Towamba, 367 people were isolated following the closure of the Princes Highway and overnight the SES door-knocked 23 homes in the town of Canowindra in central NSW.
Evacuation warnings are in place for parts of Queanbeyan, properties along Jerrara Dam west of Kiama and for parts of the Hawkesbury River at Gronos Point, Pitt Town Bottoms and Richmond Dwellings.
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