NSW weather: Houses evacuated as coastal areas cop wettest July in 66 years

Widespread flooding from heavy rain has seen homes evacuated, people rescued and some areas of NSW cop record-breaking falls.

Torrential rain which caused flooding around Newcastle and the Central Coast on Sunday moved south overnight and into Tuesday, bringing challenging conditions on the state's South Coast and ACT forecast districts.

It was all caused by a coastal low off the central NSW coast.

On Twitter, Newcastle residents shared their awe over the terrible conditions.

“Everyone, please stay safe. The rain is insane,” one woman tweeted.

Another tweeted it was time to sandbag the garage again.

Newcastle was pummelled by 152.2mm on Monday.

Homes evacuated in bushfire-affected area

Twenty homes in Sussex Inlet on the NSW South Coast were evacuated on Monday night as the river at Sanctuary Point peaked at 1.1 metres and is expected to rise even further. Earlier this year, Sussex Inlet was ravaged by bushfires.

There were also concerns for homes at Wamberal on the NSW South Coast with rain exacerbating soil erosion for residents living near the sea.

Further south, the Bureau of Meteorology said up to 164mm of rain had fallen at Moruya to 9am on Monday, causing river levels to rise.

Weatherzone meteorologist Brett Dutschke told Yahoo News Australia Ulladulla, also on the south coast, had its wettest July in more than 60 years.

“On the month as a whole it’s the wettest July in 66 years,” he said.

“The area received 162mm. It’s close to the wettest 24-hour period for the month of July with the record at 169.8mm.”

Mr Dutschke added over 48 hours, Ulladulla was drenched by more than 300mm.

Wattamolla at the Royal National Park received 184.6mm of rain on Monday.

In Kiama, two people had to be rescued when a flatbed truck was caught in rising floodwaters overnight on Swamp Road.

NSW SES volunteers arrived shortly after 4am on Tuesday and used a raft to access the vehicle.

Minor flooding is occurring along the Bega River, which is at 4.6 metres at Bega’s north, with flood warnings issued for low-lying areas in the vicinity.

Heavy surf is believed to have caused localised damage and coastal erosion south of Wollongong, while a hazardous surf warning remains current for the area between the South Coast and Hunter coast, the BoM said on Tuesday.

A flood warning is current for the Deua River and St Georges Basin on the South Coast.

A Watch alert has been issued for the state's coastal river catchments from Upper Nepean to Moruya Rivers, the SES warned.

This includes the Shoalhaven River, St Georges Basin and Bega River.

For those not enjoying the big wet, Mr Dutschke said the reprieve could come as soon as Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s definitely on an easing trend,” he said.

“It should clear from the South Coast later today and further north later on.”

with AAP

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