Communities rally as floodwaters rise, schools close

Unusually heavy snow adds to challenges faced by rescuers and residents enduring floods and rain. (HANDOUT/NSW SESDIS)

The search continues for a woman swept away in floodwaters as rubberneckers worsen the damage for drenched residents.

Scores of communities spent Monday mopping up and replacing roofs after wild weather battered Sydney and northern NSW over the weekend.