Heavy rains and wild winds have returned to much of New South Wales today as thousands of residents and businesses continue to clean up the floods.
The Meteorological Office has predicted that areas around Sydney and the Newcastle region could receive between 10 and 20 mm of rain today, while the Illawarra district should expect between 20 and 40 mm.
Residents are also being warned of dangerous surfing conditions in Byron Coast, Coffs Coast, Macquarie Coast, Hunter Coast, Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast and Batemans Coast.
Heavy rains have returned today to parts of New South Wales already affected by heavy flooding. (Image: David Swift) (Getty)
Beach conditions in these areas could be dangerous and people should stay well away from surfing and areas exposed to surfing, the Office warns.
There is also a possibility of a storm in the coastal areas this morning.
The big swell is caused by a low pressure system near New Zealand and high pressure over south east Australia.
Southeast winds from cool to strong will affect the coast mainly between late morning and early afternoon, before decreasing from the afternoon.
Rain is expected to move away from coastal areas on Monday, but could return as soon as Wednesday.
Extreme weather warning comes as thousands of NSW residents returned home yesterday to begin the long recovery journey after the latest flood event.
Flood cleaning has begun at Wollombi Tavern on the central coast of NSW. (Supplied)
The federal government extended flood disaster payments to include eight more areas of local government that were devastated by flood waters.
Residents of Cumberland, Mid Coast, Muswellbrook, Nambucca, Newcastle, Port Stephens, Randwick and Warren are now eligible for payments.
Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet said yesterday that a “major effort” will be needed to repair the damage to the communities affected by the floods.
“I had the opportunity this morning with (Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke) to fly over Maitland and Singleton and see the extent of the damage from above,” he said yesterday.
NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet and Emergency and Resilience Services and Flood Recovery Minister Steph Cooke surveyed the helicopter floods on Saturday. (Photo by David Swift-Pool / Getty Images) (Getty)
“And the enormous challenge we face, not only for local communities but also for governments, to make sure we get our communities up and running again is not lost on me.
Flood cleaning begins after a week of disaster