Residents told to evacuate as flood waters rapidly approach NSW town

About 1800 people in the NSW central west have been ordered to evacuate with floodwaters expected to cut off crucial roads.

About 1800 Forbes residents have been ordered to immediately evacuate their homes as floodwaters rapidly approach the NSW central west town.

The State Emergency Service is warning that people should not delay moving because the floodwaters will progressively close roads and cut off access to homes.

The SES issued the evacuation order about 12pm on Tuesday for about 800 homes in low-lying parts of the town, who have been told to leave by 9pm that night.

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a major flood level at Forbes from Tuesday similar to the last significant flooding event in 2016.

Thousands of people in the NSW central west were earlier warned to prepare for possible evacuations with the Lachlan River threatening to burst its banks and flood.

Heavy rainfall over the past week has led to overflowing catchments across NSW and Victoria, with the NSW SES receiving about 1500 requests for assistance in the Forbes area.

More than 8000 people in the town of Forbes are in the path of the river, which is rising upstream.

More to come