02:19

Hello, and welcome to what authorities say could be the wettest weekend in Sydney in 22 years.

After years of drought, Sydney is expected to receive the most rain it has had in one weather event since 1998.

The Bureau of Meteorology is recording rainfall rates of 15-20mm per hour in Sydney and the central coast of New South Wales, and there are reports of trees falling and roads flooding throughout the city, as well as extensive flooding on the north coast of NSW and southern Queensland. The State Emergency Service has received more than 3,000 calls for assistance since Thursday, and 40 calls to rescue people stranded in floodwaters.

NSW weather: six families rescued from floodwaters as rain lashes east coast Read more

We will keep you updated on the situation as it unfolds. I’m Calla Wahlquist, you can send me your updates and weather photos to calla.wahlquist@theguardian.com or on twitter @callapilla.