Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate as heavy rain continues across New South Wales, with the state again dealing with a major flood crisis.

The federal government says it’s on standby when NSW declares a state of emergency, which would activate Commonwealth financial aid.

Scores of evacuation orders and warnings have been declared, mostly north-west of Sydney, where major flooding is occurring along the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers at Menangle, North Richmond, Lower Portland and Windsor.

Residents in parts of Chipping Norton in Sydney’s south-west have been directed to evacuate by 11.45pm, as flood waters rise at Milperra.

‼ #Flood #EvacuationOrder – Parts of #ChippingNorton – Evacuate the following area by 11:45pm, Monday 4th July 2022 ‼
– All properties on Governor Macquarie Drive bounded by Georges River on west & north, and by Ernest Street on the east.

More info: https://t.co/QnyNwOPjOf pic.twitter.com/WIzvTcggtp

— NSW SES (@NSWSES) July 4, 2022

Flood warnings are in place for the Georges and Woronora rivers.

The SES is warning that people who don’t leave when directed may become trapped without power, water and other essential services and it may be too dangerous to rescue them.

Evacuation centres have been set up across western Sydney at Canley Vale, Narellan, Gymea, Richmond, North Richmond and Castle Hill, and at Gosford on the Central Coast.

‼ #Flood #EvacuationOrder – Parts of #LowerPortland – Evacuate the following areas by 2am, Tuesday 5 July 2022 ‼
– All properties in Lower Portland, west of the Hawkesbury River along West Portland Road

More info: https://t.co/THq3eAYzqN pic.twitter.com/BsFScjdj3J

— NSW SES (@NSWSES) July 4, 2022

Premier Dominic Perrottet says the latest inundation could threaten more people and properties than previous floods.

“Experiences in the past do not necessarily mean that the flood event will be the same … there could be a worse situation,” Mr Perrottet said.

He urged people to follow SES orders.

The State Emergency Services had received more than 3900 requests for help and conducted 85 rescues to 3pm on Monday.

“We anticipate another busy night,” SES Commissioner Carlene York told the ABC.

❗#EvacuationCentres Currently Open❗@ResilienceNSW have Evacuation Centres open at #CanleyVale, #Narellan, #Gymea, #Richmond, #NorthRichmond, #CastleHill, #Liverpool.
More info: https://t.co/Nw6ExhrNeu pic.twitter.com/GJgjJbVagG

— NSW SES (@NSWSES) July 4, 2022

At Revesby Heights a Fire and Rescue NSW crew saved a family of five, including a pregnant woman, trapped in flood waters on Monday night.

Firefighters came to the aid of the family whose car had become stranded near the corner The River Road and Prince Street. No one was hurt in the incident.

Rain is forecast for the rest of the week and the flood risk will remain even after the wet weather stops, with saturated catchments likely to react quickly to any falls in the coming weeks.

There are severe weather warnings of damaging winds, hazardous surf and heavy rain that may cause flash flooding in the Illawarra, Blue Mountains, Sydney Metropolitan and parts of Hunter and Central Coast districts.

Thanks to General Thomae and team for tonight’s briefing at Richmond RAAF Base with Acting PM @RichardMarlesMP & local MP @stemplemanmp on the important support role the ADF is playing through the NSW floods. You are making a big difference to people who have been through a lot. pic.twitter.com/WB6SYthza4

— Senator Murray Watt (@MurrayWatt) July 4, 2022

NSW has requested another 100 Australian Defence Force members, on top of 100 who joined on Sunday, helping with sandbagging and doorknocking.

Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said he was on standby to help NSW, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Mr Perrottet discussing the situation overnight.

“We want to be very quick and thorough when it comes to providing recovery support to people as well,” Mr Watt told the ABC.

Flood Recovery Minister Steph Cooke said communities will get help to recover from yet another flood when disaster declarations are made.

“For many communities this is the fourth flood that they have seen in less than 18 months,” Ms Cooke said.

An initial deployment of 7 VICSES, CFA and EMV personnel have been deployed to assist in some of the worst affected areas.

We have further specialised personnel on standby and are working closely with NSW and the Cth to ensure they have everything they need to keep people safe

— Jaclyn Symes (@JaclynSymes) July 4, 2022

Camden Council deputy mayor Paul Farrow said the south-west Sydney community was heartbroken and fatigued by repeated flooding over the past 18 months.

Risk Frontiers resilience general manager Andrew Gissing said community flood recovery can be hindered by repeat events.

“They are forced to continually pick up the pieces,” he said.

Mitigation strategies and encouraging development in lower risk areas could reduce flooding in the future, he said.

Warragamba Dam began spilling on Sunday morning, and by evening water was gushing over the wall at a rate of 515 gigalitres per day.

WaterNSW will continue to work with the Bureau of Meteorology to monitor weather forecasts and inflows. The spill volume from Warragamba will be influenced by the rain received in the catchment today.
Read our media release: https://t.co/r15ivVZdd8 pic.twitter.com/NcprjNf4j0

— WaterNSW (@WaterNSW) July 4, 2022

WaterNSW said the flow slowed overnight, down to 380GL/day, but the spill will depend on rain in the catchment on Monday.

The dam flows into the swollen Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers, which are above major flood levels in multiple areas.

Farmers have called for the dam wall to be raised to prevent floods damaging agricultural land.

NSW Farmers president James Jackson said the Sydney basin grows up to $1 billion of produce annually.

“How many floods do we have to have before we realise dams won’t stop a flood but they can change the shape of it and reduce the damage significantly?” Mr Jackson said.

“It’s very fast-moving water, it rips the ground away and destroys their crops.”

-AAP