Blue Mountains bushwalkers rescued as flood calls outs surge in NSW

Two bushwalkers stuck between a swollen creek and a waterfall were among 750 calls for help from raging floodwaters in NSW on Saturday.

Two bushwalkers in the Blue Mountains have been rescued after they became stranded while hiking in heavy rainfall.

Emergency services remain on high-alert across the state as record-breaking rains and raging floodwaters threaten homes and lives in low-lying areas along the NSW coast.

A severe weather warning, including heavy rainfall and damaging winds, has been issued for people in the Mid North Coast, metropolitan Sydney and parts of Northern Rivers, Hunter, Illawarra, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, southwest slopes, the Snowy Mountains, ACT and Northern Tablelands.

Another 750 calls to emergency services were made on Saturday, including from two bushwalkers returning from a camping trip around 2.30pm on Saturday.

The pair, who were walking the Six-Foot Track at Katoomba, ran into difficulties after they became stranded between a fast-flowing swollen stream and a waterfall across their path.

After calling triple-0 for assistance, Blue Mountains police rescue and NSW Ambulance special operations paramedics managed to locate the pair near Nellie’s Glen.

The footpath is submerged by floodwater as the Parramatta River overflows at the Charles Street weir and ferry wharf at Parramatta in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Officers established a roping system which enabled the bushwalkers to safely cross the falls in a harness.

The pair were examined by paramedics before being allowed to leave.

NSW SES deputy commissioner Daniel Austin said more than 4500 calls for assistance had been made since Thursday.

He told the ABC at least 1500 State Emergency Service volunteers had been out in “very trying circumstances” and he expected calls for help to continue to rise with more heavy rainfall predicted.

“(We’re) dealing with trees down, power outages in places, helping the electricity companies through clearing of debris and damage to houses,” Mr Austin said on Sunday morning.

Sydneysiders watch the banks of the Parramatta River overflow at the Charles Street weir and ferry wharf on Saturday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

“We saw a mini-tornado through parts of the Sydney metro yesterday and obviously a very significant amount of flood-related calls right up and down that coastal strip.”

River systems are expected to peak again over the next two days, with heavy rainfall expected along the coast until the middle of the week.

Mr Austin urged people not to drive through flood waters, warning they were putting not only themselves but rescuers in serious danger.

“We’re planning well beyond Easter for our own operations,” he said.

“Just because the rain may stop on Thursday, the rivers naturally don’t go back to their normal state.

“Then there’s going to be an extended recovery period post this given how widespread it has been.”

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said more rain was forecast for the NSW coast and other parts of the state over the weekend. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

The Westpac rescue helicopter was also called in to help an 83-year-old woman who had a fall on a property at Ellenborough, west of Wauchope in the Mid North Coast.

The woman was unable to be reached by road due to flood waters in the area and was treated for the possible fractures before being flown to Tamworth Rural Referral Hospital.

In another incident at Woollahra, residents of four houses in Wallaroy Cres were evacuated on Saturday night following a partial wall collapse.

Heavy rain had caused a 40m natural rock cliff face to shift, prompting concerns parts of the rock wall could collapse and damage nearby properties.

Structural engineers declared one property unsafe to return to until the wall was stabilised, while residents of the three other houses were given the green light to return.