Residents across northern NSW are on flood alert again, with heavy rain, dangerous surf and flash flooding likely across the region in coming hours.

The NSW State Emergency Service has called in extra resources to the state’s mid-north coast ahead of predicted downpours of 100 millimetres on Saturday.

“NSW river catchments are quite wet at present, and any storm or weather event can lead to flash flooding very quickly”, Superintendent Joanna Jones said.

“The NSW SES urge all residents and visitors to consider their travel plans and remind everyone not to drive through flood waters.”

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a rain band will develop NSW before contracting to the state’s north later on Friday and into Saturday.

It brings the potential for fresh and gusty winds, increased rain (most likely along the mid-north coast), localised flash flooding and large waves to the northern half of the NSW coast.

Tweet from @NSWSES

The SES said anyone in the area, including on the Coffs Coast and in the Clarence Valley, should review their flood plans and prepare for possible flash flood impacts and storm conditions.

Coffs Harbour is expected to bear the brunt of a rain band predicted to develop across the state.

“The biggest risk over the weekend is going to be a flash flooding story with an intense downpour,” Coffs Harbour SES deputy unit commander Martin Wells told the ABC.

NSW SES has also advised residents in low-lying areas of the Orara River locations that they need to watch and act due to the potential of rising flood water and changed road conditions.

BOM community engagement officer Morgan Pumpa urged anyone in the area to stay informed about weather conditions and changes.

“The wettest day is expected to be Saturday and the day we highly recommend people monitor the radar and make sure they’re checking that forecast as well as the warnings,” he told the ABC.

He said sustained flooding was not expected beyond the initial intense rainfall.

“We’re not really wanting the public to be concerned about any river flooding but to be very mindful of those low-lying areas that do tend to catch people out with those intense heavy rainfall episodes,” he said.

“Of course, there is the risk of riverine flooding following that, depending on where it falls and how intense that is.”

The latest warning comes as many people remain homeless in Lismore and surrounds after repeat deadly flooding earlier in the year.

NSW State Emergency Service commissioner Carlene York revealed on Friday that extra flood rescue boats had been purchased for the devastated region, but had not yet arrived in the northern town.

“We have the boats available. There aren’t any extra up there [in Lismore] but we’re continuing to roll out our replacement program for fleet and vessels,” Carlene York told a budget estimates hearing on Friday.

“It’s important to note that the weather conditions are quite different than what we had in the February-March floods.”

During those floods, a low pressure system blanketed much of eastern NSW and Queensland, and much of the Sunshine State was also inundated, she said.

The extreme weather in the Northern Rivers and Hawkesbury-Nepean regions killed 13 people, and destroyed more than a thousand homes.

“We were particularly stretched during the February-March floods that we had to maintain resources in a lot of places across NSW.”

New systems, created after the February-March floods, were implemented during flooding in July.

These included getting three to five days of early briefings from the Bureau of Meteorology, and liaising with other emergency agencies.

“We have resources available to go, we’re looking at the resources available across the state,” Ms York said.

“We can relocate fleets and vessels much easier than we could in the February-March floods.”

Ms York said the SES had also invested in six Unimog emergency vehicles – large semi-amphibious trucks that can drive into water up to 1.2m deep.

One Unimog is based at Lismore and was used during flooding in July.

Flood Recovery Minister Steph Cooke stressed the government had made a record investment of $4.2 billion in emergency services in the 2022-23 budget.

This included a spend of $132.7 million for the NSW SES, including $40 million for capital expenditure.

The state’s two fire services received a combined $1.9 billion.

Australia is staring down the barrel of a third consecutive La Nina year in 2022, based on weather bureau predictions released in August. If it develops, it will be the first time this century that there has been a La Nina in three consecutive years – a phenomenon known as a “triple-dip” La Nina.

La Nina leads to cooler but wetter weather, with above-average rainfall in Australia’s east and north. It has also been a key driver of Australia’s recent bout of devastating floods.

-with AAP