The storm emergency gripping the east coast of Australia has claimed four lives and caused major floods in Tasmania, with two residents still missing.

Police recovered the body of 75-year-old Mary Kathleen Allford from her home in Shale Road, Latrobe today.

It comes a day after Ms Allford's husband was airlifted from the roof of the property. Rescuers were forced to wait until floodwaters had receded before attempting a search of the property.

There were fears for two people, Karen Cassidy and partner Peter Watson, who were out delivering newspapers at 2.30am when a wave of water hit their van at Evandale, south of Launceston.

While Ms Cassidy was found safe and well this morning, 63-year-old Mr Watson has not yet been located.

Mr Watson’s son, Corey, has told 9NEWS how Mr Watson and Ms Cassidy attempted to escape the floodwaters by climbing up onto the roof of the van.

He said he spoke to Mr Watson on the phone, before to the pair was hit by more water and Mr Watson was swept away.

“I talked to dad, he was really, really scared. And asked me just to tell my brothers and sisters that you know, they’re loved,” he said.

Rescue crews in Bowral. (Supplied)

The younger Mr Watson said Ms Cassidy is “bruised and battered, but she’s in a lot of stress, a lot of shock, and she’s blaming a lot of it on herself”.

A 81-year-old man is also missing in Ouse in Tasmania, which copped the brunt of the storm yesterday as New South Wales started to clean up. The man is feared drowned.

“As the hours pass and time goes by, we hold more and more grave concerns for retrieving the men alive,” Tasmanian Police Commissioner Darren Hine said at a press conference today.

The search for the 81-year-old has been hampered by low cloud and fog in the search area, which meant police were forced to forgo the use of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

While floodwaters surrounding the property where the man was swept away have started to receded, the area is still affected and poses a safety risk.

Consequently the search has been suspended until tomorrow.

Another man in his mid-40’s was rescued at 3.35pm today, after he was discovered standing by an upturned kayak, stuck in a tree in the floodwaters.

The man is believed to have been attempting to access his home via the kayak when he was cut off by the flooded river.

More than 200 properties have been impacted in what has been the worst floods to affect Tasmania in more than 40 years.

Video has captured the moment floodwaters descended on the Mersey Yacht Club marina in Devonport, causing it to break away and multiple yachts to drag their moorings.

With several rivers still affected by major flooding in several rivers, police have initiated an evacuation of Invermay and Longford.

A pool slides onto the beach at Collaroy as massive swells erode the beach. (9NEWS choppercam)

Wild weather has also caused chaos for tourists and travellers trying to travel across the Bass Strait, leading to the temporary closure of the Port of Devonshire.

The search for a man who was swept off rocks into rough water at Bondi Beach yesterday afternoon resumed at first light today, after an aerial and sea operation failed to find any trace of him.

He is believed to have been an international student from the US.

Emergency services have been left "absolutely frustrated" by people who enter floodwaters despite repeated, clear warnings to stay away from them, with both police and the SES stressing people are placing their lives at great risk by doing so.

Police divers yesterday retrieved the bodies of two men in separate cars swept away by floodwaters in Bowral and in Leppington in New South Wales.

The body of 65-year-old Robert Pollard was found inside a car in Mittagong Creek in Bowral yesterday morning, while another man was found dead in a ute submerged by floodwaters on Anthony Road, Leppington.

The body of a 37-year-old Kambah man was found in the Cotter River near Canberra after he was caught in floodwaters near the river crossing at the Cotter Dam in Coree.

Do you have photos or video of the wild weather? Send them to contact@9news.com.au but please stay safe.

Sydney's south-west bore much of the brunt of the fierce weather, with parts of Camden and Picton left underwater.

NSW beaches have been lashed by waves up to 12m high, leaving million-dollar homes teetering on the edge of eroded sand dunes.

Up to 10m to 15m of waterfront land washed away at Collaroy on Sunday night.