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NSW floods updates: 'No doubt' floods becoming 'more common' as NSW inundated for fourth time in 18 months, Premier says — as it happened

ABC News Channel live stream

The Hawkesbury River is reaching peak flood levels as some regions of south-east NSW experience their fourth inundation in 18 months.

Look back at Monday's developments with our live blog.

Key events

Live updates

By Jessica Riga

Pinned

Where to find emergency assistance and information:

Listen to ABC Local Radio for regular updates:

By Jacqueline Howard

That's where we'll leave the blog today

This is where we will wrap up the blog for today. Thank you for your company.

Stay safe tonight and we will see you again tomorrow.

By Jacqueline Howard

Full list of evacuation orders

Is there an updated figure for the number of evacuation orders that are in place? As of writing

-Brooke

According to the NSW SES, there are 169 'notifications' current across the state. Around half of these are evacuation orders, and the others are evacuation warnings and other flood-related alerts.

You can find the full list here on the NSW SES website.

By Jacqueline Howard

Rescue teams assess whether it is safe to rescue the crew of the cargo ship before it was tugged further out to sea off the coast of Sydney's Royal National Park

By Shiloh Payne

A cargo ship that lost power has been pulled out to sea

A cargo ship that lost power off the coast of Sydney's Royal National Park has been pulled further out to sea by tug boats. 

Here's some vision of the ship:

By Shiloh Payne

National emergency declaration unnecessary at this stage, Federal Government says

By Shiloh Payne

SES issues Evacuation Order for the eastern part of Wisemans Ferry

NSW SES is directing residents and businesses within Eastern part of Wisemans Ferry to evacuate properties along Singleton Rd from the Wisemans Ferry town centre to the western edge of Laughtondale now.

The order says residents should proceed along Sungleton Road to Old Northern Road and head south to Castle Hill. 

Once floodwater reaches 3.15 metres at the Webbs Creek the area will be siolated, the SES warns.

You can check the full list of evacuation orders here on the NSW SES website.

By Shiloh Payne

‘What even is normal anymore’: Windsor cafe owner rues fifth flood in three years

By Shiloh Payne

Key Event

The Prime Minister says assistance is being provided to flood affected regions

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spoken for the first time on the unfolding situation, he says he's been briefed and assistance is being provided.

By Shiloh Payne

NSW State Emergency Services Commissioner, Carlene York predicts more heavy rainfall overnight and urges communities near Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers to be 'very aware of the risks'.

By Shiloh Payne

Police and firefighters set up flying fox for essential ration packs

Polie and firefighters in the Blue Mountains have set up a pulley system to transfer ration packs over a flooded causeway.

By Shiloh Payne

Floods hit Bathurst sending bridges underwater

Parts of Bathurst are underwater as floodwaters continue to move across NSW.

By Shiloh Payne

Family of five rescued from their western Sydney home

Here's the latest from Tim Swanston

NSW SES crews have performed several rescues this morning in Londonderry.

Water levels are rising in the area, cutting off roads and inundating homes.

Evacuation orders were issued for Londonderry this morning.

Hamed, his partner and three children were rescued by SES a short time ago.

"The water came up so quickly," he said.

"We thought we'd get out this morning and just to put some furniture and things up on the first floor."

"We woke up this morning one and a half meters underwater."

ABC reporter Harriet Tatham took these photos:

By Shiloh Payne

Hawkesbury River to peak this afternoon

Here's the latest from Kamin Gock on the ground:

The Hawkesbury River is expected to peak in Windsor this afternoon at 13.3 metres.

Debris is building up along the Windsor bridge which has again gone under.

It will remain closed for some time until the water subsides, and it's cleared of any flood damage.

The swollen river system has divided the Hawkesbury in two with local SES crews focusing on keeping isolated communities connected with emergency supplies.

ADF personnel have been knocking door to door around the Windsor township assessing residents' situations.

By Shiloh Payne

Authorities believe a tugboat has arrived to assist a cargo ship that lost power off the coast of the Royal National Park.

By Shiloh Payne

Key Event

SES rescues mother and six-week-old baby from rising Sydney floodwaters

A mother and her six-week-old baby have been rescued from rapidly rising flood waters in Sydney's north-west.

Dwayne Miller, a volunteer with the State Emergency Service Hawkesbury unit, recounted the dramatic rescue on ABC Radio Sydney.

He was among a group of SES volunteers conducting a routine doorknock in Gronos Point, on the northern banks of the Hawkesbury river, near Wilberforce, on Sunday afternoon when they met a woman who had recently moved to the flood-prone area.

"Unfortunately she wasn't aware of the usual flooding situation of the area," Mr Miller said. "We gave her some advice that she should seek some refuge with some friends because her husband was on the opposite side of the river."

But shortly after the SES members left, the Hawkesbury River began to rise rapidly.

"We came back and grabbed her as quickly as we could, put her in our high-clearance vehicle, our Unimog [all-terrain truck], and drove her across the floodwaters on the other side," Mr Miller told ABC Mornings host James O'Loghlin.

"We were all pretty nervous because the water was rising very rapidly. We really had to put some urgency on it otherwise we would have been trapped there ourselves."

Mr Miller praised the mother for remaining calm during the emergency, while "the baby slept through the whole thing".

By Shiloh Payne

So why has there been so many floods in the last 18 months?

Dr Ian Wright from the School of Science at Western Sydney University says the Western Sydney region has spread into flood-prone lands.

"Development has been approved despite the known risks of flooding," Dr Wright says.

"The NSW SES have continuously reminded us of how exposed many Western Sydney communities are to flooding emergencies."

"The community are critical that Government has failed to adequately prepare for flooding emergencies.

"For example, the recently rebuilt Windsor bridge over the Hawkesbury River was completed in 2021, at a cost of $100 million. It has attracted criticism as it has now been closed from four floods in 18 months."

Associate Professor Iftekhar Ahmed from the School of Architecture and Built Environment at the University of Newcastle, says there's a lot of discussion on whether these events are linked to climate change.

"Such heavy rainfall at this time of the year is unseasonal and the effects of La Niña are expected to persist well into the winter season," Professor Ahmed says.

"A cycle of disaster after disaster induced by advancing climate change renders each cycle of lessons gained redundant, posing difficulty in translating the lessons when newly established knowledge thresholds are breached."

By Shiloh Payne

Camden tennis club has flooded for the fourth time in a year.

By Jessica Riga

The Camden Bowling Club has been completely inundated

The NSW SES and Rural Fire Service are currently on the scene pumping water out from the bowling green. 

By Shiloh Payne

Residents told to prepare to evacuate Lake Illawarra

ABC reporter Holly Tregenza has filed this report from the area.

Low lying areas of Lake Illawarra have been issued an alert to be ready to evacuate as the situation worsens.

There is an expected water level peak later this evening at high tide.

Carol and Frank Brown have been residents here for 19 years and said this year the water level has risen higher than ever before.

'This is the worst it's got for us over the whole 19 years,' Mr Brown said.

The SES have told them to be ready to leave.

'If it reaches past our first step, we should consider evacuation,' Mrs Brown said.

'We're not panicked, at our age, we can't afford to panic,' she said.

'But we have things ready to go if we need.'

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