NSW is bracing for another week of sogginess with the Bureau of Meteorology warning the current weather system being “dangerous and potentially life threatening”.
The warning comes as police called off a search for a man believed missing in floodwaters in Lismore in northern NSW on Sunday due to rising flood levels.
Police heard him calling out for help about 4pm but “lost sight of the man a short time later”, with the search due to continue on Monday.
River levels may reach 11 metres at Lismore on Monday, the weather bureau said.
SES volunteers had carried out 70 flood rescues since torrential rain began falling on Tuesday, the premier told reporters on Sunday morning.
“We know that whilst there might be blue skies in certain parts of NSW that does not mean that there will not be significant flooding events that occur over the course of this week,” he said.
One NSW life has already been lost, with a man killed when his LandCruiser was carried away by floodwaters on the Central Coast, north of Sydney, on Friday.
The communities of Tombolgin, Lismore, Grafton, Coutts Crossing, Kyogle, Casino and Coraki have major flood warnings forecast for Sunday heading into Monday.
The weather bureau’s Ailsa Schofield said “a low pressure system travelling down the coast of NSW” will again bring with it increased “rainfall totals … around the south coast” by Wednesday.
“This is a dangerous and potentially life threatening weather system that is currently affecting NSW,” the senior meteorologist said.
AAP
