Road closures, emergency warnings and more: What to know about the NSW floods

Follow our live coverage of the NSW Mid North Coast floods here. 

Four people have died, one person is missing, and an estimated 50,000 people have been isolated as northern NSW grapples with record-breaking rainfall and unprecedented flooding that is wreaking havoc in the region.

The body of a man in his late 70s north-west of Coffs Harbour was discovered by police early on Friday morning, representing the latest death from the flood disaster.

There are 36 emergency warnings in place from Newcastle to Coffs Harbour, with meteorologists forecasting severe weather for the Southern Hunter, Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands on Friday. About 9,000 people are under evacuation orders.

A SES member stands at the edge of floodwaters on Manning River Drive near Taree in Purfleet. Credit: Kate Geraghty

Here are the latest warnings for areas impacted by the flooding event.

Evacuation warnings

Residents in the following areas have been advised by the NSW State Emergency Service to evacuate immediately amid concerns of severe flooding:

Evacuation warnings

• Manning Point 

• Smithtown 

• Gladstone 

• Kempsey CBD 

• Redbank

• Gloucester Caravan Park

• Ferndale Caravan Park

• Bellinger River Tourist Park, Repton

• Hastings River Drive, Hibbard

• Kinchela to Jerseyville

• Belmore Right Bank and Kinchela Left Bank

• Newry Island, including Newry Island Drive and Island Place 

• Newry Island South 

• Low-lying parts of Macksville

• Atherton Drive and surrounds, North Urunga

• Yellow Rock Road

• Urunga Waters Caravan Park 

• Marina Crescent and Old Punt Road, Urunga 

• Parts of Nambucca, including all low-lying properties adjacent to the Nambucca River

• Parts of Bulahdelah, including parts of Richmond Street, Prince Street and Alexandra Street

• Parts of Settlement Point, including Settlement Point Road, Girraween Road and Stevens Street

• Parts of Wauchope, including on parts of Rocks Ferry Road, Hastings Street, River Street, Alma Street, Parker Street, Nelson Street, and Bain Street

Emergency warnings

Residents in the following areas have been told to move to higher ground, or seek shelter:

Emergency warnings

• Parts of Rosebrook, Hillsborough, Lambs Valley (along Maitland Vale Road), Anambah and Gosforth, including parts of Windermere Road, Anambah Road, Valley Street, Durham Street and Maitland Vale Road 

• East Kempsey rural properties and surrounding areas

• Austral Eden and surrounds 

• Parts of Wauchope between King Creek and Stoney Creek Road

• Rawdon Island 

• Parts of Gumma, including all properties on Gumma Road, Figtree Road, Barnetts Road, Boultons Crossing Road, Wallably Drive, Waterford Drive, Robert Hughes Road and Warrell Waters Road

• The Hatch Road, Blackmans Point, including properties along Mooney Street, Telegraph Point Road and Hacks Ferry Road, and properties along East Road, Hosking Road, Blackmans Point Road, Elfords Road, The Hatch Road and Mcmillan Drive

• Port Macquarie - North Shore, Limeburners Creek and Riverside

• Parts of Taree and Dumaresq Island

• Low-lying areas of Wingham 

• Croki and surrounds, including Moto

• Parts of Coopernook, including properties on parts of Coopernook Road, George Gibson Drive, Macquarie Street and West Street

• Oxley Island, Mitchells Island and Manning Point

Road closures

Flooding has caused the following roads to be closed:

Road closures

• Main Road between William Tester Drive and Redwood Drive, Gillieston Heights 

• Sandgate Road between Pacific Highway (Maitland Road) and Newcastle inner city bypass, Shortland 

• Giinagay Way between Wallace Street and Boundary Street, Macksville 

• Seaham Road between Newline Road and Raymond Terrace Road, Raymond Terrace

• Nelson Bay Road between Richardson Road and Medowie Road, Williamtown 

• Oxley Highway at O’Neills Creek, Long Flat (west of Wauchope)

• Giinagay Way between Florence Wilmont Drive and Nursey Road, Nambucca Heads to North Macksville 

• Oxley Highway between Pacific Highway and Randall Street, Thrumster to Wauchope

• Failford Road between Pacific Highway and The Lakes Way, Failford (south of Taree)

• Pacific Highway between Manning River Drive and George Gibson Drive, Purfleet to Coopernook

• Melbourne Street between Day Street and Cumberland Street, East Maitland

What’s behind the floods?

An unusually stagnant coastal trough that parked over the NSW Mid North Coast on Monday and refused to budge is behind the weather phenomenon.

Troughs are regions of low-pressure that bring in storm clouds and rain, and this one is feeding off moist winds blowing in from the ocean.

As a result, some rain gauges have clocked 600mm of rain – about four months’ worth – since Monday.

The Hastings, Manning, Paterson, Hunter, Macleay and Williams rivers have swollen, with several expected to continue rising.

In Kempsey, the Macleay River has breached the levee, triggering evacuation orders in the CBD, while the rising Hastings River in Port Macquarie has forced residents in low-lying areas to flee. The Manning River in Taree has passed the previous record height of six metres set in 1929.