Key Points
- Around 1,000 people in NSW town of Forbes have been told to evacuate ahead of major flooding.
- The Lachlan River is rising faster than anticipated and is expected to reach around 10.8 metres by Tuesday afternoon.
- The rest of the central west NSW remains on high alert.
Around 1,000 people in NSW town of Forbes have been told to evacuate before expected major flooding, as the state's entire central west remains on high alert.
The State Emergency Service (SES) issued the evacuation warning, saying the Lachlan River was rising faster than anticipated and people needed to get out by Tuesday morning or risk being cut off.
With river levels expected to reach 10.8 metres by Tuesday afternoon afterrnon, around 500 to 600 homes and businesses are anticipated to be inundated again under the gushing water.
On the 63rd day of , Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke spoke of the ongoing devastation, saying Condobolin was entirely isolated.
"This just isn't people's houses. These are people's homes. It's their belongings, it's their memories, it's their livelihoods and it's their futures," she told reporters in Sydney.
Premier Dominic Perrottet says rescue efforts are now focused on the towns of Eugowra and Forbes where 14 aircraft have been used to help stranded residents.
"We know for many of our communities in the central west, there is a lot of pain and a lot of hurt but we've got through these challenges in the past and we'll get through these challenges again," he said.
"We do expect a difficult period of time over the next couple of days."
Around 100 Australian Defence personnel have been deployed to help in rescue operations with 12 New Zealand volunteers arriving, along with 14 aircraft supporting and rescuing residents and another four helping with logistics and transport.
SES Commissioner Carlene York described the response "as one of the biggest operations ... across NSW in its history".
The Bureau of Meteorology's Steven Bernasconi said 17 flood warnings are in place with eight major ones affecting 25 locations.
He outlined major flooding at Forbes, with the peak similar to 1952 flood levels, Cowra at 14.3m peak, Namoi could reach 13.6m and Condoblin at 7.4m.
Major flooding is occurring also at Bathurst where the river peaked at 6.4m but has fallen significantly and Eugowra, which peaked at 9m and is slowly falling.
The evacuation order for Forbes comes just over a week after it experienced record flooding that damaged homes, businesses and roads.
The latest flooding event has stretched over 63 days with 70 local government areas falling under a natural disaster declaration, Ms Cooke said.
The major regional NSW centre of Forbes is still recovering from the last major flood that hit the town less that two weeks ago. Credit: CRAIG DWYER
"They can't believe this could happen twice in such a short period of time," she told ABC TV on Tuesday.
People were working hard sandbagging to protect their properties but needed more support.
"This is really heartbreaking. Our farming community and businesses are suffering terribly."
"It's terrible, really, for the economy of a small rural town," she said.
The Wyangala dam is spilling at record levels, with 230,000 megalitres being released a day, exacerbating flooding along the Lachlan River.
Mr Perrottet said his government is committed to raising the dam, saying it will protect lives.
About 150 people were rescued on Monday from roofs in the central-west town of Eugowra and nearby Molong, with extensive damage in the historic town.
SES Chief Superintendent Dallas Burnes said people in Eugowra were shocked at how quickly the water level had risen.
"The velocity was extremely fast - too fast in many cases to put boats in the water - hence the evacuations we performed yesterday with the 12 assets we had on hand via helicopter," he told Nine's Today program.
The SES had performed 222 flood rescues and received 909 requests for help in the 24 hours to Tuesday morning and 70 local government areas are now subject to natural disaster declarations.
A cold front will move to the south on Tuesday and snow is expected in southern parts of NSW before a high-pressure system from the south leads to conditions clearing on Wednesday.
