Another evening of huge rains across the state's east coast has left rural communities on Sydney's outskirts facing flooding and evacuation in the wake of a major storm system.
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The bulk of the rain had moved on from Sydney by Saturday morning, but heavy falls are continuing to impact the South Coast and Southern Tablelands on its passage into the Tasman Sea.
The Hawkesbury-Nepean saw in excess of 100mm of rainfall right across the catchment in the 24 hours to 9am on Saturday morning, with 194mm coming down at Kurrajong Heights and 134mm at Colo Heights.
Further south, around 160mm fell in the same period at Nowra.
Parts of Lower Portland on the Hawkesbury's eastern banks, Sackville, Ebenezer, Pitt Town Bottoms, Gronos Point, Cornwallis and the Richmond Lowlands were evacuated early on Saturday as waters rose.
A swathe of low-lying areas across Windsor, Richmond, the Upper Colo and surrounds have also been warned to prepare to leave.
The Richmond Bridge and the Yarramundi Bridge at Agnes Banks were closed, with the Windsor Bridge also expected to shut by the afternoon.
At Windsor, the Hawkesbury River had reached moderate levels but further rises were beginning to slow as of 11am on Saturday morning.
The Colo River at Upper Colo was at moderate climbing towards major levels, but there was hope the river would peak before the afternoon.
Warragamba Dam also delivered spills early on Saturday morning.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the system was not an east coast low, but a similar event caused by the convergence of a coastal trough and a low pressure system.
