Flooding, broken records: Sydney braces for big wet this weekend

Extra rescue crews have been deployed and thousands of NSW residents are on flood watch as emergency services warn of a wet weekend to come for Sydney and other parts of the state.

An already saturated Sydney is bracing for a weekend of wild weather, with emergency services warning residents “not to be complacent” when it comes to floodwaters.

The warning came just one day after the city broke the record for the wettest year since records began in 1858, with three months of the year still to go.

The Sydney region and much of the state will be hit with a huge dumping of rain this weekend, with more than 100 millimetres expected to fall in some areas.

Up to 15mm of rain was forecast to fall in Sydney on Friday, with 50 to 60mm tipped for Saturday and 10 to 15mm on Sunday.

Flood warnings for the Hawkesbury and Nepean River were raised from minor to moderate on Friday as the NSW State Emergency Service gears up for the downpour.

Wet scenes in Sydney at Luna Park today as rain fall smashes the East coast of Australia. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Penrith is expected to receive up to 70 millimetres of rain on Saturday and 35 millimetres on Sunday.

NSW Police Force Superintendent Bob Noble urged people in the Hawkesbury-Nepean region to be alert and aware of the rising waters this weekend, with catchments and riverways already full from weeks of rain.

Residents of the Hawakesbury-Nepean region have been told to stay alert this weekend.

“If you’re door knocked and asked to evacuate; we want you to do it then and there, we don’t want you to actually think ‘I’ll do it later in the night’,” he said.

“You need to be on alert. If you are given advice to evacuate, then you evacuate immediately.”

People have been urged to stay safe on the roads, as thousands of people head inland for the Bathurst 1000.

The message comes just two weeks after a five-year-old boy died in flood waters when his parents’ car was swept into a swollen river in the state’s central west.

A soggy qualifying for the Bathurst 1000. Picture: Daniel Kalisz

“We know floodwaters can rise very rapidly, the ground is saturated,” Deputy Premier Paul Toole said.

“If you go into floodwaters what you’re doing is not only putting your life and your passengers lives at risk, you’re also putting the lives of our emergency service personnel at risk as well.

“Please don’t risk it.”

Fire and Rescue NSW has pre-positioned specialist flood rescue teams in Bathurst, Forbes and Warren, which are currently subject to warnings of severe weather, overflowing dams and swollen rivers.

The extra crews will aim to assist the NSW SES with in-water rescues and resource deployment.