Floods New South Wales
Residents across New South Wales have been evacuated and rescued as heavy rain continues to batter the east coast. Above is an emergency crew member wading out to a car caught in flood waters in Newcastle
Newcastle has faced its wettest January day in more than 150 years after torrential rain batters the east coast forcing residents to abandon their homes, as flash flooding hits Sydney.

The Bureau of Meteorology said Newcastle, north of Sydney, experienced the most rainfall on a January day since records started back in 1862, also logging its wettest day since June 2007.

In the 24 hours leading up to 9am on Wednesday, Newcastle record more than 200mm of rain.


Major flood warnings have been issued across the state's east after the town of Dungog, in NSW's Hunter region, was inundated with water and locals were told to leave their homes, the ABC reported.


An evacuation order has been issued for 30 homes in nearby Raymond Terrace, with SES volunteers doorknocking residents telling them to leave.

Up to 130mm of rainfall was recorded in a 24-hour period at nearby Bulga, resulting in major flood warnings for Wollombi Brook, with the State Emergency Service (SES) responding to more than 1,400 calls since Tuesday and carrying out 21 flood rescues since the deluge started.

NSW Ambulance paramedics have been called to almost 100 motor vehicle-related incidents since Tuesday morning, with 14 of these happening from midnight to 10am on Wednesday.

'With the heavy rains predicted to continue, paramedics are calling on people to slow down and take extra care. Wet weather can result in reduced visibility, slippery road surfaces and flooding, all of which create hazardous driving conditions,' NSW Ambulance's Jamie Vernon said.

Williamtown, also in the Hunter region, recorded a 220mm rainfall in 24 hours.

Newcastle airport closed its runway for just over four hours after it was inundated with flood waters but it reopened at midday.

'Flights will recommence this afternoon. Please contact your airline re your flight status,' the airport's Twitter page said.

Floods Australia
Parramatta has received 135 mm since Monday with 86mm of rain falling in just the last 24 hours until 9am on Wednesday morning

Floodwater
SES volunteers are doorknocking residents telling them to leave. Above are emergency crews use a blow-up boat to get around on flood waters
Further south, emergency crews are trying to reach a group of at least 21 campers who have become trapped by flood waters.

Bendethera Valley campground, west of Moruya, has been isolated by heavy rains and flooding with at least 16 adults and five children trapped at the site, an SES spokesman told AAP.

'There has been no direct contact since Sunday... they have been isolated since then,' he said.

The campsite is also without mobile phone reception, making it hard for crews to understand the conditions in the site but it is likely they will be running low on food.

Search crews could not reach the campground on Tuesday and difficult weather was causing problems for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter to land in the area.

flood waters rising around Maitland,
SES captured shocking images of flood waters rising around Maitland, north west of Newcastle

Floods Australia
Rolling green paddocks quickly morphed into large brown lakes as water pooled in lower ground
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Peter Znijewski told Daily Mail Australia the wild weather was expected to end later on Wednesday.'We're expecting the low to move to the mid-north coast. We should be seeing improvement in the weather this evening and overnight,' he said.

Blue skies have been predicted for this weekend.

But in the lead up to the sunny weather, some suburbs in Sydney have been drenched in rainfall usually seen over a month in two days, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Over three days, the city's metropolitan areas have had up to 80mm of rain, while Frenchs Forest, in Sydney's north, and the Hills District have recorded rainfall of up to 150mm.

Ponies are being stranded amid the flash flooding
Ponies are being stranded amid the flash flooding on Salt Ash in the Hunter Region of New South Wales as they wait patiently to be rescued, with one resident claiming she has never seen bad weather in 44 years
In the west, Richmond and Penrith have seen 120mm.

Meanwhile in Parramatta, the wharf was closed after 68mm of rain had fallen by 9am on Wednesday, with 127mm drenching the suburb in three days.

'For the wettest suburbs in Sydney, it's the heaviest rain they've had since April, and it's pretty unusual for January. This is more than the monthly average in less than 48 hours,' Weatherzone senior meteorologist Brett Dutschke told the Herald.

A resident in Hawkesbury, Penelope, told Daily Mail Australia the flood waters had risen quickly behind her property.

'Yesterday morning [we] saw paddock fully [when we] came home last night no paddock,' she said.

In photographs from Penelope's house, which she described to be up on a hill just outside of Sydney, her paddocks look to be completely under water.

She and her neighbour have spent Wednesday morning moving their livestock away from the water's edge, fearing more deluge.

In regional NSW, around Bulga, waters are expected to exceed the major flood level of 4.6m by 9am and reach 5.1m by 3pm on Wednesday, with further rises still possible.

In Dungog, the Williams River peaked at 8.05m in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

A total of 22 people were evacuated in Dungog - an area that has been cleared for the second time in 10 months, according to 7News.

Rainfall has eased but BoM predicts the Mill Dam Falls will peak close to major flood level (9.1m) by 9am, while the Paterson River near Gostwyck is tipped to peak close to moderate flood level.

A severe weather warning remains in place for the mid-north coast and Hunter region following relentless rainfall on Tuesday.

'Most of the weather will affect the Hunter, particularly the lower Hunter, before the low decides to move to the north-east probably later in the day,' BoM forecaster Christopher Webb told the ABC.

'There may be some gale force winds associated as well.

'It's not over as yet. There's still the possibility of a burst of really very heavy rain.'

SES crews from Sydney have geared up to help out volunteers in the region on Wednesday, but some are staying to deal with flash flooding in Sydney.

North of Sydney, roads turned into rivers at Newcastle when flash floods hit the area, sparking an alert to residents at Wallsend to prepare for a potential evacuation.

SES deputy commissioner Greg Newton told ABC radio about 260 volunteers were out in force across NSW helping people as winds pick up, with forecasters predicting gales of up to 90km/h.

'That may cause further issues, particularly with trees that may have been affected by the wet ground falling over through the course of the day,' he said.

'Our main message for people is if they see flood waters they should never enter those regardless of the vehicles they are driving or what they think might be going on.

'There's been 21 instances in the past two days where emergency services crews have had to go rescue people who have become trapped in flood water.'

Mr Newton said most of the people who were freed were driving cars and of those most of them were in four-wheel-drives.

NSW Police fined a man $425 at Murrah on the far south coast after he attempted to drive across a flooded bridge on Monday.

A park in Wallsend, near Newcastle, has been inundated with water as heavy rain continues
A park in Wallsend, near Newcastle, has been inundated with water as heavy rain continues
On the Central Coast, four tourists were rescued after their car became bogged on a bush track.

The men, believed to be from Germany, called triple-zero about 4.30pm on Tuesday after they realised their four-wheel-drive got stuck in the mud in the Olney State Forest, following heavy rain in the area.

Members of the Central Coast Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA) began searching for the men and about 11pm they found the group on a track known as Lemon Tree Road.

BoM meteorologist Dmitriy Danchuk said there was more rain to come, with the heaviest rainfall expected to affect the coast between Taree and Newcastle.

Authorities have pleaded with the public to avoid driving across flooded roads as the number of rescues climbed to at least 21 across NSW.

The men were taken to Wyong Police Station where police verified they were not injured and did not require medical attention.

A Westpac Life Saver Helicopter airlifted a heavily pregnant woman from an isolated property on the far south coast and took her to Bega Hospital.

Campers have also been warned to stay in contact with the SES as a group remains stranded on the south coast.

They have enough food to last a few days, Westpac Life Saver CEO Stephen Leahy told AAP.

The new year has kicked off with some wild weather after a water spout was spotted off the coast at Sydney's Northern Beaches on Sunday.

water spout was spotted off the coast at Sydney's Northern Beaches on Sunday
The new year has kicked off with some wild weather after a water spout was spotted off the coast at Sydney's Northern Beaches on Sunday
Pamela Pauline, from Pamela Pauline Photography, snapped a picture of the spout at Bungan Beach in the afternoon.

'I estimate the funnel would have been about 500m to 1 km out to the ocean. There were several sailboats out and about,' she told Daily Mail Australia.