A man has been found dead in his car in floodwaters in the town of Cobbitty, south-west of Sydney.
Here's how the second day of major flooding around Sydney unfolded.
Key events
Live updates
By Riley Stuart
NSW flood update
The NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke, as well as representetives from the Bureau of Meteorology and State Emergency Service provided a flood update this morning.
Catch up on it here:
By Paige Cockburn
And...you're closing the blog... :(
-Natty
Blog closing
Sorry Natty, you guessed correctly. That's where we're going to leave the live coverage today but please head over to our main story for all updates throughout the night. We're expecting another BOM update at 6pm.
Thankfully we've seen several evacuation orders lift this afternoon and many flood alerts have also been cancelled.
The main game now is keeping an eye on the Hawkesbury River around Windsor, particularly early tomorrow.
And remember, the BOM predicts Sunday will be a "pretty nice day" 🤞🤞🤞
By Paige Cockburn
Where we're at
- Moderate flooding is occurring along the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond and Windsor. Some roads are closing in Windsor as we speak so keep across LiveTraffic.
- Minor flooding is occurring at Penrith and Sackville but no flooding is expected downstream of Sackville.
- The Nepean River at Menangle Bridge, Camden Weir and Wallacia Weir is falling with moderate flooding.
And what's to come
- The Hawkesbury River at Windsor may peak near 9.80 metres around 4am tomorrow with moderate flooding
- It may peak at 5.80 metres in Sackville tomorrow morning with minor flooding.
- The Hawkesbury River at Lower Portland is likely to remain below the minor flood level (4.60 metres)
By Paige Cockburn
Hawkesbury BMX club 'lost for words'
By Paige Cockburn
The ☀️ is out in Windsor!
By Paige Cockburn
By Paige Cockburn
No power?
Endeavour Energy says they have had to isolate power supply in a lot of flooded areas to ensure safety.
You may not have power if you live in Camden, Sackville, Pitt Town, Leetsvale, Ebenezer, Agnes Banks and Cattai.
You can let Endeavour know your power is out here.
Fallen power lines can be reported by calling 131 003.
By Paige Cockburn
Woronora and Bonnet Bay residents can head home
There's some good news this afternoon, with the SES lifting the evacuation orders for these low-lying parts of Woronora and Bonnet Bay:
Woronora:
- Thorpe Road
- Prince Edward Park Rd
- Deepwater Estate
- Manilla Place
- Boomi Place
- Yanko Close
- Prices Circuit between Park Road and Menai Road
- Prince Edward Park Road North of the bridge at the RSL.
- Arthur Place
- Lower Washington Drive
- Johnson Close
- Woronora Village Tourist Park
- Menai road Woronora
- Liffey Place
- Thames Street
Bonnet Bay:
- Johnson Close
- Arthur Place
- Lower Washington Drive backing on to Johnson Close
People in these areas have been under evacuation orders for more than 24 hours.
By Paige Cockburn
❗ Flood rise expected in next half hour ❗
The Nepean River at Wallacia Weir is likely to peak at 11.20 metres at around 3pm.
River levels will be slightly lower than they were during last month's floods.
Based on the prediction provided by the Bureau of Meteorology it is expected the following areas will be impacted by dangerous floodwaters:
- Wallacia
- Greendale
- Bents Basin
- Mulgoa, including low-lying properties along Mulgoa Road
By Paige Cockburn
Body recovered from Cobbity
Police in south-west Sydney have recovered the body of a man from a vehicle submerged in floodwaters at Cobbity.
The man was reported missing just before 8am today and his van, which had become trapped in floodwaters, was located shortly afterwards.
Police say the 68-year-old's body was recovered during an operation involving the police helicopter, divers and the SES.
He's yet to be formally identified and an investigation will take place into the circumstances surrounding his death.
By Paige Cockburn
What to expect over the weekend (spoiler: more rain)
The rain will be sticking around but will gradually ease over the weekend.
There may be pockets of sunshine (like we're seeing in Sydney right now) but that doesn't mean people should drop their guard.The BOM is urging people to check river conditions of anywhere you are travelling through or to.
Thunderstorms will still be possible across the interior of the state and the far northeast from early Saturday.
Flooding is no longer expected in the following catchments:
- Upper Coxs River
- Macdonald River
- Northern Sydney
- Southern Sydney
- Parramatta River
By Paige Cockburn
Evacuation orders lifted for Chipping Norton
Anyone in these streets in Chipping Norton can now safely return home:
- Newbridge road Between Riverside Road and East to Georges River
- Davy Robinson Drive
- Rickard Road
- Arthur Street
Flood levels have dropped but you should take care when returning to the area as flood damage can be widespread and utilities may not be in service.
Plan your route carefully to avoid any flooded roads and make sure the electricity and gas is turned off before going inside homes.
By Paige Cockburn
Here's what Pitt Town Road looks like now
There's an active evacuation order for Pitt Town Bottoms - this is why
By Paige Cockburn
More evacuation orders for Sackville
The SES says the following residents and businesses must evacuate parts of Sackville North by 2pm:
- 951 Sackville Ferry Road (Anderson Farm)
- All dwellings in 968 Sackville Ferry Road (Ulinbawn Water Ski Park)
- All dwellings in 952 Sackville Ferry Road
- 942 to 968 Sackville Ferry Road
Proceed to Sackville Ferry Roads towards Maroota to evacuate.
Once floodwater reaches 4.5 metres at the Sackville Ferry the area will be isolated and you may become trapped.
By Paige Cockburn
Some GOOD news
Flooding is no longer expected in Central Coast and South Coast rivers.
This means flood warnings are cancelled for:
Central Coast
Upper Coxs River
Macdonald River
Northern Sydney
Southern Sydney
Parramatta River
Illawarra Coast
Clyde River
Moruya and Deua Rivers
By Paige Cockburn
Aerial scenes from around Ebenezer and Sackville
By Paige Cockburn
This is what happens when petrol mixes with floodwaters
Petrol has been bubbling up out of sinks and soaking into lawns after an oil refinery spillage in the Sydney suburb of Kurnell yesterday.
Floodwaters inundated a retention pit at the Ampol terminal and caused petrol to spill out onto the roads of Kurnell. The RFS then had to pump out several houses in the area.
The disaster is far from over...
By Paige Cockburn
The Hawkesbury is swelling but there's some hope....
Residents along the Hawkesbury are no doubt feeling desperately flood weary and unfortunately the river is set to peak at 11.80 metres around 6pm today.
With Warragamba dam spilling, there are significant flows into the Hawkesbury from the Upper Nepean....
BUT, the SES says the river levels are likely to remain well below the March 2021 and 2022 flood levels.
And, although further showers are forecast for today and tomorrow, that rain is not expected to produce renewed river rises.
