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Major flooding, the Bureau of Meteorology says, is occurring along the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond where the river level is rising.

A Moderate to Major Flood Warning remains in force for the Hawkesbury, Nepean, and Colo rivers.

The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has issued evacuation orders for Grono’s Point, Pitt Town Bottoms, low-lying parts of North Richmond, Cornwallis, Pitt Town North, Freemans Reach, and North Agnes Banks.

Flooding is likely to be higher than experienced in the February 2020, April 1988, and July 1990 flood events and may reach similar levels to the November 1961 flood event along the Hawkesbury River.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned of increasing concern about the Richmond community, the Hawkesbury Valley community, and parts of western Sydney, where a one in 50-year occurrence is possible, that thousands more evacuations may be required.

“What that means is that another 4,000 people may be asked to evacuate in and around that Hawkesbury region and parts of western Sydney,” the premier said Sunday afternoon.

Eighty-five flood emergency rescue personnel are being brought into the state from South Australia and Queensland, and another 40 are on their way from Victoria to support the NSW SES over the next few days.

Its the sustained rainfall, the fact that the weather event has settled in, its not moving on, and also of course the capacity of the Warragamba Dam spill over and what that might mean. Obviously when its a one in 50-year event, in terms of the amount of rainfall, and the sustained rainfall, it has a huge impact,” Berejiklian said.

Heavy local rainfall has fallen upstream of Penrith causing the river levels to rise sharply. Major flooding is expected at Windsor, Sackville, and Wisemans Ferry from late Sunday. Major flooding is also possible at Penrith and Lower Portland.

Moderate flooding is possible along the Nepean River at Menangle and Wallacia during Sunday.

Moderate flooding continues along the Colo River, with major flooding possible from Sunday evening. No river level observations are available for the Colo River at Putty Road.

Heavy rainfall has been observed across the Hawkesbury Nepean Valley during Saturday and Sunday. This heavy rainfall over the catchment has resulted in river level rises observed upstream of Warragamba Dam, which has reached full capacity. Warragamba Dam commenced spilling around 3:00pm Saturday.

Further heavy rainfall is forecast for Sunday and early next week. This rainfall may cause further rises.

Road closures:

• Windsor Bridge is closed between Macquarie Street and Wilberforce Road at Windsor
• Macquarie Street is closed between Brabyn Street and Bell Street at Windsor
• Great Western Hwy at Blackheath was blocked by floodwaters and was closed Sunday afternoon but has since re-opened
• Wisemans Ferry Road is closed across the Cattai Creek Bridge at Cattai
• Pitt Town Road is closed between Saunders Road and Glebe Road at Pitt Town
• Garfield Road West is closed between West Parade and Carnarvon Road at Riverstone
• Bells Line of Road is closed across the Hawkesbury River Bridge at Richmond
• Springwood Road is closed across the Yarramundi Bridge at Yarramundi
• Wilberforce Road is closed between Freemans Reach Road and Rose Street at Wilberforce
• The Northern Road is closed between Coreen Avenue and Glebe Place and Castlereagh Road is between Thornton Drive and Jane Street at Penrith.

Upper Nepean River:

Moderate flooding is possible along the Upper Nepean River. Minor flooding is current at Menangle and Wallacia.

The Nepean River at Menangle Bridge peaked at 8.51 metres around 07:30 am Sunday with minor flooding. Further rises to the moderate flood level are possible.

The Nepean River at Wallacia Weir may reach the moderate flood level (8.70 m) around 4:00 pm Sunday.

Hawkesbury and Lower Nepean River:

Major flooding is occurring along the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond. Moderate flooding is occurring at Penrith and Windsor. Minor flooding is occurring at Sackville.

The Nepean River at Penrith may reach around 9.8 metres about 9:00 pm Sunday night with moderate flooding. This is similar to the 1961 flood event. Further rises to the major flood level are possible.

The Hawkesbury River at North Richmond (WPS) may reach around 16.0 metres about 4:00 am Monday morning with major flood level. This level is similar to the 1961 flood event. Further rises are possible.

The Hawkesbury River at Windsor (WPS) is likely to exceed the major flood level (12.20m) around 9:00 pm Sunday night. The river level may reach around 15.0 metres at about midday Monday with major flood level. This level is similar to the 1961 flood event. Further rises are possible.

The Hawkesbury River at Sackville is likely to exceed the moderate flood level (7.30m) overnight Sunday into Monday. The river level is likely to exceed the major flood level (9.70m) Monday morning and may reach around 11.00 metres Monday evening. This level is similar to the 1961 flood event. Further rises are possible.

The Hawkesbury River at Lower Portland is likely to exceed the minor flood level (4.60m) around 3:00 pm Sunday afternoon. The river level is likely to exceed the moderate flood level (6.10m) around 9:00 pm Sunday night and may reach around 7.2 metres Monday evening. This level is similar to the 1961 flood event. Further rises to the major flood level are possible.

The Hawkesbury River at Wisemans Ferry may exceed the moderate flood level (3.50m) Monday morning. The river level may exceed the major flood level (4.20m) Monday afternoon and may reach around 4.70 metres overnight Monday into Tuesday. Further rises are possible.

Colo River:

Major flooding is possible along the Colo River. Moderate flooding is current along the Colo River.

The Colo River at Putty Road may reach the major flood level (10.70 m) Sunday evening. Further rises are possible.

Flood Safety Advice:

In life threatening emergencies, call 000 (triple zero) immediately. If you require rescue, assistance to evacuate or other emergency help, ring NSW SES on 132 500.

• * Avoid drowning. Stay out of rising water, seek refuge in the highest available place.
• * Prevent damage to your vehicle. Move it under cover, away from areas likely to flood.
• * Avoid being swept away. Stay out of fast-flowing creeks and storm drains.
• * Never drive, ride or walk through flood water. Flood water can be deceptive and dangerous.

For more emergency information, advice, and access to the latest river heights and rainfall observations and forecasts:

* NSW SES: www.ses.nsw.gov.au

* RMS Live Traffic: www.livetraffic.com

* Latest River Heights and Rainfall Observations: www.bom.gov.au/nsw/flood/greatersydney.shtml

* Latest NSW Warnings: www.bom.gov.au/nsw/warnings/

* Rainfall Forecasts: www.bom.gov.au/australia/meteye/

* BOM NSW Twitter: www.twitter.com/BOM_NSW

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