Motorists are being urged not to drive through floodwater as another bout of wild weather hits NSW.
With much of the state already saturated from the severe east coast low at the beginning of June, widespread heavy rainfall this weekend could cause flash flooding, the NSW SES says.
More than 300 flood rescues were carried out by the NSW SES during the last deluge, which claimed the lives of two men who died after being trapped in their cars by floodwaters.
“We need people to take extra special care over the next three to four days when they’re out and about, and if at all possible when we have these periods of heavy rain just stay off the roads, stay indoors and wait for more appropriate times to travel,” SES Acting Commissioner Greg Newton told reporters in Sydney on Friday.
He said many flood rescues occur within 20 kilometres of a person’s home.
“They overestimate the ability of their vehicle and their knowledge of the situation and often that gets them into trouble.”
Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecaster Mohammed Nabi said the north and mid-NSW coast could get up to 100mm of rain over a 30-hour period from late Saturday to the end of Sunday, but the low pressure system won’t be anywhere near as severe as the previous one.
“The low that’s forming is probably not as strong and it moves away to the Tasman Sea a lot quicker than the previous event,” he said.
Steady rainfall in the northern parts of the state on Sunday will head south and hit the Illawarra region on Monday morning before clearing up on Monday evening, he said.
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