Family rescued from floods TWICE after SES boat capsizes
A family fleeing flooding along a river northwest of Sydney has needed to be rescued twice after the boat evacuating them capsized.
The boat overturned with a family and three SES crews on board as it approached the Sackville Ferry Wharf on Tuesday afternoon.
The family were being ferried out from land surrounded by major flooding along the Colo River.
SES teams were originally trying to move 90 people from the area but have suspended that plan as the flood threat subsides.
18,000 people evacuated with 15,000 more on stand-by
Major flooding is occurring along the Colo River in the Hawkesbury region and the State Emergency Service ordered about 500 people in 200 homes to get out on Tuesday.
Residents along the Colo River are warned to be ready to leave if the water rises again.
About 18,000 NSW residents have had to leave their homes since last week, with another 15,000 people on stand-by to do the same.
NSW and parts of southern Queensland have been inundated with storms and rainfall for more than a week.
People northwest of Sydney have been ordered to evacuate homes amid the unrelenting downpour as a massive amount of water flows into catchments, causing rivers to break their banks.
SES Commissioner Carlene York on Tuesday told reporters those people would otherwise have been trapped by the rising waters.
Boats and helicopters would be deployed to help them leave.
On the Hawkesbury River, another evacuation order was issued for low-lying properties in North Richmond, Agnes Banks and Windsor.
Warnings of moderate flooding along the Nepean River at Penrith are also in place and floodwaters are expected to affect the upper Nepean.
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