A body has been found in the search for a woman missing in floodwaters in NSW's Central West while another man remains unaccounted for.
Look back on all of the day's events as they unfolded.
Key events
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Live updates
By Emily Sakzewski
Where to find emergency assistance and information
We're going to close our live blog here, but here's where to find emergency assistance and information:
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For emergency assistance, contact NSW SES on 132 500
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If your life is at risk, call Triple Zero (000) immediately
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Roads and bridges may be impacted by flash flooding. You can find the latest evacuation orders here
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For the latest weather updates visit the Bureau of Meteorology
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If you're not sure what to do when there's a flood, here's the best way to plan
Listen to ABC Local Radio for regular updates:
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ABC Sydney on 702am or online
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Search for a different frequency using the ABC Radio Finder
By Emily Sakzewski
Not long ago, many of these flooded communities were running out of water
Associate Professor Ian Wright, a water scientist from the School of Science at Western Sydney University, said this flooding is just the latest hit to NSW regional communities.
"Many of the towns impacted from flooding this week, such as Bathurst, Forbes, Dubbo and Condobolin, were running out of drinking water just 2.5 years ago.
"Water storage dams are today releasing torrents of flood waters [but] from 2015 to 2020 they were progressively drying out."
Professor Wright said rural industries, such as irrigated agriculture and livestock industries, have suffered with severe water shortages for years.
"Now sheep and cattle are drowning in flood waters and many crops are under water, or are in paddocks too boggy to harvest.
"This adds to economic suffering for farmers, rural communities and has implications for world food security as the world desperately needs Australian grain."
By Emily Sakzewski
Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles is in Forbes
Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles has visited Forbes with the local Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack.
Mr Marles said federal support will be available for people there.
"We're working very closely with the NSW government," he said.
"Obviously the NSW government is the lead tier of government in terms of declaring what level of support is required here, that's in terms of whatever payments are available."
An evacuation order has been extended to more parts of Forbes, as properties start being inundated by major flooding.
A shelter now order is in place for higher ground on the CBD island, with authorities declaring it is too late to leave.
The Lachlan River is currently at 10.68 metres in the town and is expected to reach a record height of 10.8 tomorrow morning.
Reporting by Joanna Woodburn
By Emily Sakzewski
The mosquito population is booming in flood-ravaged NSW
Mosquitoes in plague-like proportions are causing the air to hum around farms in flood-devastated New South Wales.
On a property 60 kilometres west of Tottenham in the Central West, one family has shared a video of clouds of the insects on their verandah.
Farmer and wool classer Nicole Fragar, 26, said she was shocked to see the infestation around the farmhouse.
"We get pretty used to plagues of bugs after storms and then we looked closer and we looked closer and we saw they were actually mosquitoes — it was crazy," she said.
"They are so thick you can barely see across the verandah."
By Emily Sakzewski
Images from the recovery effort in Eugowra
Photos by the ABC's Brigitte Murphy.
By Emily Sakzewski
How some Eugowra locals told us they're feeling
Kyle Turner's home is still standing, but all of his and his family's belongings have been ruined.
The Turner family have started to clean out their house, having to discard almost everything.
"Everything inside is stuffed but at least the house is still structurally there," he said.
"We lost three of our cars and all the kids motorbikes too … it's all washed away now."
Reporting by Brigitte Murphy and Xanthe Gregory
By Emily Sakzewski
How some Eugowra locals told us they're feeling
ABC Central West reporters Brigitte Murphy and Xanthe Gregory have been out and about in Eugowra today.
Di Gardner told them she feels lucky to be alive after flood waters raged through her home.
Nearly all of her furniture is ruined and her home is littered with mud and debris, but the local community has stepped in to try and help clean up.
Ms Gardener said she was less worried about losing her stuff and more about others in her community.
"It's devastating," she said.
"People watched their horses floating down the river.
"I don’t know what you can say or do to help that."
By Emily Sakzewski
International reinforcements arrive in Forbes
International reinforcements have arrived to help respond to what's expected to be one of the worst floods to hit Forbes in NSW Central West.
A team from Fire Emergency New Zealand has touched down to provide relief to exhausted SES crews who've been dealing with flooding in the Forbes district for months.
Assistant Commander Gareth Hughes said he hasn't seen anything like it.
"The scale of this is amazing to see, absolute devastation," he said.
An evacuation order has now been issued for more of the town's CBD.
Reporting by Joanna Woodburn
By Emily Sakzewski
Serious concerns for locals isolated by flooding
In South Australia, Mid Murray Mayor Dave Burgess says there are serious concerns about Riverland locals being isolated and cut off from emergency services once the Murray River Murray peaks in early December.
Authorities said the Riverland could see up to 165 gigalitres a day flow through the region by early December, and that could go up to 220 gigalitres a day.
It means some roads and bridges will close and vital ferry services will have to cease.
Mr Burgess said not enough is being done to coordinate the safety efforts.
"This is what we locals call a blue-sky flood - we just wait for it to come from way above us and we having trouble to understand why people aren't rushing around us to help us prep now."
By Emily Sakzewski
'No-one is insured... and no-one will insure us'
Eugowra residents have told ABC Central West's Xanthe Gregory that a lot of people will be forced to leave the town because they won't be able to rebuild.
The small community, which is about 35km east of Forbes, was hit by what residents described as "a wall of water" on Monday morning, with 90 per cent of residents needing to be evacuated.
Most houses are destroyed.
"No-one is insured because we're in a flood area and no one will insure us," local Blake Osbourne said.
By Emily Sakzewski
'I couldn't stop here at first': Eugowra residents return to devastation
Eugowra residents began returning to their homes yesterday, only to find many of them beyond repair.
Tim Townsend said he was away on Monday night, but his neighbours told him later his building was hit by a wall of water.
He came home Tuesday.
"I couldn't stop here at first," he said, "I kept driving and came back later, a bit better prepared".
He said he was sifting through his belongings, working out what he could save.
"When you're cleaning up, you pick up one item at a time and do it one day at a time," he said.
Blake Osbourne was working at a nearby mine on night shift when the flood hit, and his partner and children were away.
He said he never thought the water would even reach his home during a flood, but when he woke up at 11am after a nap, everything was gone.
"We're pulling everything out of the house, there's an inch of mud through everything, everything is water damaged," he said.
"We're not insured, no-one is insured because we're in a flood area and no one will insure us.
"A lot of people won't be able to rebuild and they'll just have to leave.
Reporting by Xanthe Gregory, Joanna Woodburn, and Jessica Clifford
By Emily Sakzewski
Gas restored to NSW customers after outage
Gas company Jemena says supplies have been restored to everyone who has been affected by a mass outage on the state's Central Tablelands.
Customers at Lithgow have now been reconnected, a day after services were brought back online in Oberon and Wallerawang.
Repairs are continuing on the pipeline that was damaged in floodwaters two weeks ago, which triggered the outage.
Reporting by Joanna Woodburn
By Emily Sakzewski
Murray Valley Highway will close in some parts this afternoon
The Murray Valley Highway north of Piangil in north west Victoria will be closed in both directionsthis afternoon, due to emergency flood works.
The closure between Coonimur Road and Stewart Road, is expected to be in place from 1.30pm until 3.30pm.
Sandbagging will take place to maintain the structural integrity of the road which has been damaged by floodwaters.
Meanwhile, the Murray Valley Highway remains closed between Lake Charm and Kerang in northern Victoria.
Emergency services have completed works to build a levee in the area after floodwaters blocked access to the road.
Engineers from Vic Roads will need to inspect the area before it can re-open.
Reporting by Francesco Salvo
By Emily Sakzewski
Authorities forced to swim into floodwaters to rescue animals
Matthew Hendo from the SES said he and his crew travelled via boat to Barwon Street in Forbes after reports of half a dozen goats and a horse in need of help.
"The goats were up on pellets in someone’s backyard so it took us about 20 minutes to get them into the boat," he said.
"Then the lead broke on the horse and it bolted and took off into high water, so we had to swim out to get it."
All animals were then secured in an SES boat and moved to higher ground before being checked over by a vet.
The makeshift ferry point at which they arrived has also been used to transfer people and supplies across the divided town.
Reporting by Harriet Tatham
By Emily Sakzewski
Expect to see more flooding in the coming months
Dr Chiara Holgate from the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University said due to several climate drivers, further flooding shouldn't come as a surprise and "floodplain communities need to be prepared to act quickly".
"Our research shows that rainfall in eastern Australia is maximised when a particular set of climate drivers act in concert," Dr Holgate said.
"This combination of drivers is happening right now – La Niña with a negative Indian Ocean Dipole and positive Southern Annular Mode.
"These drivers have led to higher than normal rainfall over eastern Australia in recent times that have primed the landscape for flooding."
Dr Kim Reid, a Research Associate at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, said the negative Indian Ocean dipole should start to decay in the next month, which might provide some reprieve for regions west of the Great Dividing Range.
By Emily Sakzewski
Woman's body found in search believed to be Diane Smith
As we reported earlier, a body was discovered just after 11am in Eugowra.
NSW Police said while there hasn't been a formal identification, it's believed to be 60-year-old Diane Smith.
Ms Smith last spoke to a relative on the phone when the town was hit by what locals have described as a wall of water.
The search for 85-year-old Les Vugec continues.
By Emily Sakzewski
This flood protection system will replace sandbags in some areas
As residents brace for expected flooding in South Australia's Riverland, the SES has deployed technology that can be used to build temporary levees and will replace sandbags in some areas.
The DefenCell system reduces the pressure on volunteers because the units, which are light when empty, are filled by heavy machinery.
The SES says it has access to almost four kilometres' worth of the product and is assessing where it will be most effective.
By Emily Sakzewski
Forbes is currently split in two by the raging Lachlan River
The time the flood peak is expected to arrive remains incredibly fluid.
The Bureau of Meteorology initially expected the maximum flood height of 10.8 metres to arrive this morning, but has since pushed it back until tomorrow.
The water is incredibly fast-moving with several locals expressing concern that the spilling Wyangala Dam will only exacerbate the disaster.
Authorities say they expect between 500 and 600 properties to be inundated - an extraordinary number in a town of around 9,000.
Reporting by Harriet Tatham
By Emily Sakzewski
Maude prepares to be cut off by floodwaters
These photos show Maude preparing for weeks of isolation due to the flooding Murrumbidgee River.
Yesterday the SES issued a 'shelter now' warning for the village ahead of an expected major flood peak of 9.2 metres upstream at Hay today.
One of the town's 26 residents, Phil Edge, said the community feels confident it's prepared for the floodwater.
"We've all been to town and got what we need, and we're just gonna ride it out," he said.
"As long as the pub doesn't run out of beer we'll be right."
Reporting by Victor Petrovic
By Emily Sakzewski
Forbes locals anxious as floodwaters rise again
As raging floodwaters rise around his Forbes home, Adam Ruperta is busy laying down more sandbags.
"I'm a bit anxious," he said.
He said the water level has come up higher than it did in the most recent flood.
"It wasn't as bad last week, but it might be a bit worse this time around unfortunately.
"I've only been here for six months and copped two floods already."
Reporting by Tim Swanston and Harriet Tatham
