Soaked but safe

But, the Macquarie River peaked near 6.9 metres about 11pm on Saturday – lower than the 7.6 metres forecast.

At it’s peak water lapped at the sides of the low-level bridge, with Western Plains Regional Council (WPRC) and the NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES) making preparations for its partial closure.

The floodwaters had dropped below 5.3 metres by Sunday afternoon but were moving downstream to Warren, where the Macquarie River was predicted to reach major flood level (9.0 metres) this morning.

Strong winds had caused storm-related damage in Mudgee, Wellington, Rylstone and Dubbo, but no flood rescues had been reported.

A NSW SES spokesperson urged motorists not to drive through floodwater.

“If it’s flooded, forget it. Seek alternative routes,” they said.  “The danger comes where people can’t see the bottom of the road, you can’t see if the road or bridge has given way.

“Given the force of the current the cars can lift and move away pretty quickly and obviously just not knowing what the road conditions are under the impending water.”

Consistent and often heavy rainfall on already saturated ground has been blamed for the flooding, with the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecasting more heavy falls before the end of the week.

BOM senior hydrologist Hugh Bruist said the wet weather is set to continue.

“We’ve had these events before and we’re going to be having these events in the future,” Mr Bruist said.

“We’ve had all these years of rather dry conditions and now we’re moving into the wetter period. This is just part of the cycle.”