Earlier on Sunday evening, families from around 4000 properties backing onto the Narrabeen Lagoon were ordered to evacuate by 10.30pm. The evacuation order was issued as the Narrabeen Lagoon flooded to levels surpassing the last serious floods of 2016. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video All properties that back onto the Narrabeen Lagoon were being affected, with locals reporting that many low-lying roads were already inundated. A high tide was predicted to hit the lagoon around 10pm, causing major thoroughfares to flood.

"Once floodwater [reaches] 2.4m the Pittwater Road will be cut," the SES said. "If you remain in the area after 10.30pm you will be trapped without power, water and other essential services and it may be too dangerous to rescue you." Residents evacuate low-lying areas around Narrabeen Lagoon. Credit:Jacqui Kirk "This flood will be higher than the 2016 flood of the Narrabeen Lagoon." All residents in affected areas were told to evacuate to friends or family outside the flood area or seek refuge in evacuation centres set up in the Mona Vale Memorial Hall or Cromer Community Centre.

Narrabeen resident Jacqui Kirk said residents were staying optimistic. "Incredible community spirit in flooded areas, neighbours helping push cars and fill sandbags. "[There's] heavy traffic with people coming to check it all out as well, which has cause[d] problems creating a wake that washes into houses." Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video A fourth evacuation order was issued for residents in parts of Moorebank, Chipping Norton and Milperra, to the west of Bankstown Airport.

In Sydney's south-west, residents with properties backing onto the Georges River in Sydney's south were instructed to leave by 7pm, amid fears floodwaters would cut off all escape routes. Residents were advised to head in the direction of Liverpool. A tree fell in Bridge Street just before 1.30pm, crushing a car. Credit:NSW Ambulance By Sunday afternoon, extreme rain had inundated much of Sydney and the east of NSW. Sydney CBD had recorded 146mm since 9am, while Ingleburn had seen 199mm, Peakhurst 182mm and Hornsby 173mm. Some of the worst falls hit south of Wollongong, with Wattamolla recording 266mm since 9am.

Along with the rain, gale-force winds battered coastal areas, topping out at maximum speeds of 110km/h, recorded at Fort Denison just after 5pm. "The multi-day rainfall from this event looks like much more than what we had during the June 2016 east coast low which was our last significant east coast low," Bureau acting NSW state manager Jane Golding said on Saturday. A tree fell in Victoria Street in Potts Point just after 3pm, causing a suspected gas leak and forcing residents to evacuate. Credit:KlausHeo / Twitter "Potentially, we haven't seen anything like this since the late 1990s." Meanwhile, more than 137,000 people remain without power as of 9pm as tree falls, high winds and drenching rains wreaked havoc on roads and the public transport network.

Four people in the CBD were taken to hospital after a tree fell on their car just before 1.30pm, crushing the vehicle. Loading Paramedics treated five people at Bridge Street for neck pain and to take precautions against spinal injuries. Four of the passengers, two men and two women believed to be in their 50s, were taken to hospital in stable conditions. In Potts Point, a large tree came down just before 3.15pm, uprooting a section of footpath and causing a suspected gas leak. Residents were evacuated from surrounding properties and nearby St Vincent's College will remain closed on Monday, one of over 30 schools in the state forced shut.

“This wet and windy weather is really wreaking havoc on our roads today, with paramedics responding to five car accidents every hour since Friday night,” NSW Ambulance Duty Operations Manager said. “We’ve responded to multiple trees that had fallen onto cars, trees into houses and units, and people trapped in cars in floodwaters. “This was a lucky escape for the passengers who were in the car when a tree fell on them in the city today.” Rain is forecast to intensify into Sunday evening, making for a rarely-seen weather event, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Catchment areas are having the best inflow they have seen in three years, according to WaterNSW. Warragamba Dam is receiving 40 billion litres of water each day, and is predicted to swell above 50 per cent capacity for the first time since August 2019.

Falls of over 130mm are predicted for the rest of Sunday, which could take the dam to 55 per cent capacity, effectively recouping nine months of water supply in less than a week. In other parts of the state, WaterNSW modelling shows the Nepean dam could overflow if the intense rainfalls continue, and all metropolitan dam storages will see their water levels rise. Wild weather at Bronte on Sunday morning. Credit:Brook Mitchell WaterNSW scientists are monitoring inflows for contaminants left by the fires that gripped the state. "While it is likely some ash and debris has been washed into the upper reaches of the Warragamba system, there is no impact on the water quality being supplied for treatment," WaterNSW spokesperson Tony Webber said.

"Any surface debris is being avoided by extracting water from 30m below the surface as a precaution." Earlier on Sunday, four men were rescued by good Samaritans after their boat capsized on Brisbane Waters on the Central Coast, and one person was rescued after being swept away in floodwaters near Dungog. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Karen Webb chastised residents on Sunday morning for failing to heed the warnings not to drive through floodwater or enter waterways. The SES has responded to 2200 jobs since Wednesday. "We have experienced an increase in demand from people driving into floodwaters. It doesn't work. You can't beat those floodwaters under the volume of water. People are clearly not hearing or adhering to those messages." The wind had also affected surf conditions and waves of up to eight metres have been recorded.

"Those waves are being directed towards the coast. That, in combination with the king tides we are seeing today and expecting tomorrow, will mean some areas see some coastal erosion and we will also see inundation into low-lying areas." The NSW Rural Fire Service announced on Saturday night that the rain had extinguished the mammoth Currowan fire, which raged for 74 days and razed 500,000 hectares on the South Coast from Batemans Bay to Sussex Inlet, running north to the southern highlands and inland to Queanbeyan. Kids have fun on their boards at flooded Nolan Reserve in Manly on Sunday. Credit:Renee Nowytarger The Blue Mountains has recorded some of the heaviest rainfall, with Wentworth Falls receiving 180mm, but areas around Newnes on the western side of the range have received much less rain, and the Gospers Mountain fire is still listed at advice level. The rain is causing havoc with transport, with Sydney Trains carrying out "urgent infrastructure repairs" at Central Station after platforms nine to 12 became inaccessible.