Receding floodwaters have begun revealing the extent of damage across central west New South Wales, including one of the main highways through the state.
The Newell Highway between Forbes and Wyalong suffered extensive flood damage and remains closed.
It is one of the busiest transport corridors in inland NSW and is one of several major roads in the region closed.
The Lachlan River in Forbes peaked at 10.67 metres on Saturday causing extensive flooding in parts of the town.
Hundreds of businesses and homes have been affected by the town's worst flood in decades and locals expected it would take "months" to clean up.
On Monday, residents were regaining access to their properties after 1,000 people were told to evacuate, although some residents remain cut off and were reliant on emergency services to ferry them around town.
Long, slow clean-up
Business owners spent Monday surveying the damage and cleaning up after floodwaters entered hundreds of buildings around Forbes.
Car dealership owner Craig Dwyer said he spent the weekend watching and wondering how much damage the water had done to his business.
"We think we have about half a metre of water through the dealership," Mr Dwyer said.
"Computers were floating around when I walked in this morning; it'll be a huge effort for everyone in town to clean up."
"We've also lost a lot of trade, people can't have their cars serviced and we can't deliver new cars, it'll take about a week to get back to normal."
But Mr Dwyer said the amount of cleaning up required across Forbes would be a lot longer and the community would need help.
Water through homes
About a metre of water flowed through Ian Clifford's Forbes home.
He was shocked to see his property so badly hit.
"I saw the flood in 1974 but I haven't seen water like this or the way it came in and the speed it came up," Mr Clifford said.
"It's the old family home, it's a bit of a heritage thing for us.
"It would be a shame to lose it but just looking at what I've seen earlier on, over a metre of water through a old house and over the floorboards, it's not good."
Harness-racing trainer Jason Gaffney moved about 30 horses to safety after a levee bank at his property near the track broke on Saturday.
He walked the last three out of floodwaters that were up to their bellies yesterday.
Mr Gaffney said his stables were completely inundated and he had sustained damage to equipment and infrastructure.
He said the area had never been so badly affected.
"I've never, never seen it this bad, hopefully we don't see it this bad again, but we'll prepare for it and see how we go if it does happen again," he said.
Photograph damage
Forbes Shire Council encouraged residents whose properties had been damaged to ensure they photographed any damage before beginning clean-up work.
It said the local tip was open for rubbish and skip bins would be set up in affected neighbourhoods.
Residents could also leave damaged household goods on the street kerb and the council would pick them up.
The council also reminded locals that evacuation orders remained in place until they were lifted by the SES.
Towns prepare for flood peak
As the water recedes, those living downstream are being warned to expect major flooding in the days to come.
There were fears for the communities of Bedgerabong, Jemalong and Corrinella due to damaged levees.
The SES has been airlifting sandbags to the rural areas in a bid to prevent the water inundating homes and farms.
Jemalong residents were expecting a major flood peak of 8.3 metres for the Lachlan River in their region on Monday afternoon.
A flood peak of 7.4 metres was expected in Condobolin on November 14, similar to the historic 1952 flood which reached 7.37 metres.
SES crews were already in place and would use the next week to prepare the community.
Derriwong residents, east of Condobolin, have been warned to prepare to evacuate after floodwaters caused erosion and damage to the local levee.
If remedial works did not hold the levee, the community would become inundated.
The Lachlan River at Euabalong may reach 7.4 metres in mid-November.
Towns completely isolated
Many communities along the Barwon-Darling River are completely isolated and could be for some time with the river still weeks away from peaking.
Walgett, Collarenabri, Lightning Ridge, Louth and Tilpa are cut off, while Brewarrina and Bourke are preparing for possible isolation.
The river is in major flood but won't peak in towns like Walgett and Collarenabri until the third or fourth week of November, before it reaches Brewarrina, Bourke, Louth and Tilpa in December.
Floodwaters were expected to remain a problem in the Barwon-Darling catchment area until at least January, with the SES helping to resupply communities.
An evacuation order is still in place for Wolly Village in Collarenabri after flooding caused a sewerage failure.
Joshua Clark from the SES says they're also working to fix problems with power and sewerage in Namoi Village in Walgett.
"A number of parts are being sent to fix a sewage pump as well as a generator to restore power, so there is the potential sewage will be impacted," he said.
Meanwhile, in the Riverina, moderate flood levels were falling in North Wagga.
Those who were evacuated from the area have been allowed to return to their homes but were advised to be cautious.
Properties in the southern parts of Narrandera were already isolated due to multiple road closures and floodwater over roads.
Major flooding is possible on Monday and the Murrumbidgee River was expected to peak at 8.4 metres on Tuesday.
The township of Warren on the Macquarie River has been impacted by major flooding for more than 12 weeks.
More water is expected through the river in coming days.
