No let-up for devastated communities as more wild weather forecast for Qld, NSW

The misery is set to continue this week for thousands of flood-stricken residents across NSW and Queensland, with more rain and storms forecast.

Wet weather across NSW and Queensland will not let up this week, the Bureau of Meterology (BOM) says.

Flood warnings pose major risks in the Hawkesbury, Hunter Valley, Singleton and Maitland as rain continues to throw down on NSW.

A heavy trough has moved to southern NSW, with floods rising in Nowra and Terara on Monday. Fitzroy Falls has been the wettest region this week, recording 153mm of rain since 9am Monday.

Flood warnings are in place for more than 30 rivers across NSW.

The peak of rainfall will hit Sydney and Illawarra on Monday night, the BOM confirmed. There is high potential for flash flooding, landslides and damaged roadways.

Road safety warnings have been issued for the whole of Sydney as the rain impacts visibility and traffic conditions. Hazardous surf and damaging winds continue to thrash the length of the coast.

On Sunday, the BOM issued yet another flood watch for southeast Queensland, just as the communities return to rebuild from last week’s disaster. A second wet weather trough moved into the state overnight.

Although rainfall will be less than last week, still-full rivers and drenched soil means flooding is again a major risk, the BOM said.

“Catchments are very wet and highly responsive to rainfall, with fast river rises and rapid flooding onset,” a BOM spokesperson told The Australian.

There are more than 10 Queensland river catchments likely to be affected.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Queensland’s southeast with heavy rainfall, giant hailstones and destructive winds possible for Ipswich, Logan and parts of Gympie, the Lockyer Valley, Gold Coast, Noosa and Brisbane.

A severe storm warning was also issued for Capricornia, Wide Bay and Burnett, Southeast Coast and neighbouring areas.

The unrelenting wild weather has inflicted further hardship on towns in northern NSW that have been struggling to get back on their feet after the devastation of last week’s floods.

At least 900 Australian Defence Force personnel are due to arrive in the area in coming days.

In Lismore at least 1000 homes and businesses have been ­declared unrepairable because of issues with structural integrity.

Among the homeless is mayor Steve Krieg, who lost his house and both the cafes he operates.

“This is being called a one-in-three-and-a-half thousand year flood now,” Mr Krieg said.

Wrights Creek resident Linda Bracken returning to higher land after hitching a ride with the SES from her flooded village, near Wisemans Ferry, to get an X-ray. Picture: Jane Dempster

Few stores in the town are open, supplies are hard to come by, and power is unlikely to be ­restored to the CBD for days, or perhaps weeks.

“We’ve got a couple of mobile banks that will be running on generators for a while,” Mr Krieg said.

He said he was confident in promises from Premier Dominic Perrottet at the weekend that housing issues would be “front and centre” for his government. “I take people at their word, I trust what they tell me, until they give me reason not to,” Mr Krieg said.

The Lismore Council is pushing for funds to raise the levee on the eastern bank of the Wilsons River and build another on the western side. The plan has not been costed, but “it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than cleaning up like this”, Mr Krieg said.

Across NSW 1023 calls for help were received by the SES in the 24 hours to noon on Sunday, with 42 flood rescues.

State Emergency Services Commissioner Carlene York warned flood-affected communities it was “not the time to let your guard down” with waterlogged ground and swollen catchments increasing the risk of flash flooding.

“The water is still flowing from the catchment areas into the ­rivers. The fresh thunderstorm ­activity with heavy rainfall will cause those rivers to rise again. It’s still dangerous out there.”

Some 56 evacuation orders covering thousands of residents remain in place across the state.

Landslides and blackouts have left residents of Sydney’s Hawkesbury River cut off from support.

SES crews performed dozens of emergency supply drops and rescues to Wisemans Ferry on Sunday, including retrieving a body.

Wrights Creek resident Linda Bracken, who was ferried to Wisemans Ferry “for an X-ray and some dry clothes”, said most ­people were completely cut off from the outside world.

“The telecommunications are extremely poor,” she said. “People have lost power, that means they don’t have the internet and they don’t have landline.

“So it’s actually a very dangerous situation for isolated and elderly people,” which, she said, is much of the sparse population.

Additional reporting: Georgina Noack