Sydney floods: east coast low to linger until Tuesday as 40-plus evacuation orders take effect and the Nepean nears its 2022 height

An east coast low brought widespread rainfall, thunderstorms and flash flooding to parts of New South Wales on Sunday, and is expected to persist until Tuesday. Thousands of people across the greater Sydney region were under evacuation orders: authorities had issued more than 40 evacuation orders and 44 evacuation warnings, covering Camden, Menangle, Liverpool, Milperra, North Richmond, Wallacia, Penrith, Sackville, Upper Colo and Windsor. By 2:30 p.m., almost 20 roads were closed, and an evacuation centre was established at Narellan.

River levels: Menangle at 16.83 metres, Windsor facing major flooding into Monday

Major flooding continued along the upper Nepean at Menangle, peaking just short of the April 2022 flood height at 16.83 metres; at Penrith the Nepean reached 9.2 metres, with further rises possible depending on rainfall. Moderate flooding continued at Camden Weir at 12.57 metres, near its peak. The Bureau of Meteorology warned major flooding at North Richmond risked exceeding the March 2021, March 2022 and April 2022 flood events; spills from Warragamba Dam, running at 500 gigalitres a day, combined with upper Nepean inflows, were expected to cause major flooding at Windsor well into Monday, also exceeding the past three major flood events. Widespread rainfall above 200 millimetres was recorded across metropolitan Sydney in the 24 hours to 9 a.m. Sunday.

One man drowned after a kayak capsized; severe weather warning remains current

A man drowned in the Parramatta River on Sunday afternoon after a kayak capsized. The NSW State Emergency Service said it had responded to more than 1,800 requests for assistance and conducted 83 flood rescues. A severe weather warning remained current on Sunday afternoon for Sydney, Illawarra and parts of the Hunter and Central Tablelands, with saturated soil at risk of flash flooding, riverine flooding and coastal erosion; six-hourly rainfall of up to 120 millimetres was possible on Sunday evening, with damaging winds above 90 km/h and wave heights above 5 metres recorded at the Sydney wave buoy. Authorities urged residents in affected areas to delay nonessential travel and never to drive through floodwater.