Australia Weather News
Flooding in Port Macquarie. (ABC News: Emma Siossian)
A fourth person has died amid record flooding in large parts of the New South Wales Mid North Coast and Hunter regions.
A man's body was found in a car in floodwater north-west of Coffs Harbour this morning.
NSW Police said a passing motorist saw a vehicle that had run off Orara Way at Nana Glen, about 30 kilometres north-west of Coffs Harbour, at about 4:30am.
"It would appear as though he has driven into floodwaters and his vehicle has been swept off the causeway," Acting NSW Police Commissioner Peter Thurtell said.
[dw map]Officers from Coffs-Clarence Police Area Command and SES volunteers found the body inside the vehicle.
The man is yet to be formally identified but is thought to be in his 70s.
He was the only person in the vehicle.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC Newcastle the situation was "quite horrific".
"Again a reminder that if it's flooded, forget it, and for people to not take risks during what is a very dangerous period," he said.
The discovery followed the recovery of a woman's body from her car on Thursday.
The woman, aged 60, had been warned about driving through floodwater after initially travelling in convoy with a police officer on Wednesday night near Dorrigo.
The driver continued alone towards Coffs Harbour for 17 kilometres, where her car reportedly became trapped in floodwater and she called authorities for help.
Police searched the area that evening but were unable to find her.
They recovered her body from her 4WD on Thursday afternoon, calling it a "tragic circumstance".
It comes after anotherbody was found in floodwater at Rosewood, near Wauchope, earlier on Thursday.
It was believed to be the body of a 34-year-old man, who reportedly became stuck in floodwater while driving the night before.
David Knowles, 63, was also found dead on the verandah of his North Moto Road home, north-east of Taree, on Wednesday afternoon.
Person still missing
At Nymboida, south of Grafton, a 49-year-old man has been missing since Wednesday evening after he failed to return home from reportedly walking near a flooded roadway.
NSW State Emergency Service (SES) spokesperson Andrew Edmunds warned communities to remain on high alert on Friday and into the weekend.
"We're seeing a real risk of renewed flooding across the next day or two," he said.
"Even if it appears to be a sunny day or a decent break in the rain, there's still a huge amount of water to work its way through these catchments and out to sea."
SES superintendent Dallas Byrnes told ABC News Breakfast there were still 50,000 people isolated and at least 9,000 residents in areas subject to evacuation warnings.
"We've seen some drop off in these river heights, however, we are concerned that they may [rise] again with further rainfall into the hinterland and ranges area," he said.
"That will top off these already-saturated catchments, so we're expecting another busy day."
Superintendent Byrnes said 678 flood rescues had been conducted so far.
"People still are driving into floodwaters, which is really concerning, incredibly dangerous," he said.
Resupply push
NSW SES State Duty Commander Colin Malone said the rain would start to ease later today but the flooding risk was far from over.
"We may see renewed rises as water from earlier heavy falls makes its way downstream," he said.
Assistant Commissioner Malone said resupplying communities who may be isolated for several days would become a priority.
"We'll be using boats and helicopters to help isolated people with food and medications and also assist in transporting people to urgent medical appointments or other medical emergencies."
Forty emergency warnings are still in place across the region, 25 of which are under evacuation orders.
More than 100 NSW public schools are closed.
Essential Energy said more than 5,720 homes and businesses remained without power across its network.
The most heavily impacted areas include Port Macquarie, Taree and Kempsey.A statement released this morning said "safe access remains a challenge with floodwaters, fallen trees and branches … causing delays".
"Weather permitting, helicopters and drones may be used to assess inaccessible areas, to aid restoration efforts," the company said."Some communities may be without power for extended periods of time due to these ongoing challenges."
Police have urged the public to adhere to all safety messaging, avoid non-essential travel and not to travel onto flooded roadways.
Evacuation centres are operating in the following locations:
Weather tracking south
Parts of the Mid North Coast have experienced the wettest May on record.
Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) hazards manager Steve Bernasconi said Taree experienced the highest flood in more than 90 years.
"This has been the highest flood on record since 1929 at 6 metres [in Taree]," Mr Bernasconi said.
"I suspect there might not be someone with actual living memory of that particular flooding."
The BOM issued a moderate flood warning for the Colo River on Thursday night.
It also listed minor flood warnings for the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers for Putty Road, Menangle Bridge and North Richmond.
It is forecast that the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond may reach 3.8m from early Friday morning.
BOM senior meteorologist Angus Hynes told ABC News Breakfast that the rainband hanging over the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions had started heading south.
"Some of the highest rainfall has actually been around western parts of Sydney up into the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra ranges as well, where we've seen about 150mm or even slightly more over the past 24 hours," he said.
"In Sydney itself about 50mm to 100mm — so really wet through Sydney and many of those other urban areas across the east coast have seen a wet day.
"There will be further rain across the south of the state and we might see minor flooding rear up in those southern areas, but it's unlikely to match anything like the ferocity of the flooding we have been seeing and are still seeing along the Mid North Coast district."
ABC