NSW weather: Severe thunderstorm bears down on flood-hit areas of state's north
Updated
Northern New South Wales has battened down the hatches for another rough night of storms, after days of heavy rain and flooding.
Late on Sunday night the Bureau of Meteorology warned severe thunderstorms likely to produce large hailstones and heavy rainfall were still to come for several communities in the state's north.
Residents in Walgett, Nyngan, Cobar, Bourke, Lightning Ridge and Brewarrina were all warned to prepare for severe conditions overnight.
A severe thunderstorm warning for the Central Tablelands was cancelled.
Heavy rain that has already fallen in northern NSW this weekend saw hundreds of people cut off, evacuations ordered and more than 20 people rescued from cars.
The SES has completed 78 rescues and received 2,988 calls for assistance since the start of soggy weather earlier in the week.
On Sunday morning the NSW SES said about 2,100 people in small communities around the state's north and mid-north coasts were cut off. That number had dropped to about 1,300 by midday.
"We're working with those communities to make sure they have everything they need," spokesman Brent Hunter said.
SES spokeswoman Terri Langendam said residents in Wooli, Thora Darkwood and Shannondale were affected.
"They definitely are safe, SES has been in contact with them earlier," she said.
The rain had led authorities to issue flood warnings for several rivers from the central coast to the northern rivers, and Ms Langendam earlier said evacuation orders had been issued at Murwillumbah Showground and the Bellinger River Tourist Park.
The SES has since posted a tweet that the Bellinger River Tourist Park has been given the "all clear".
Lavenders Bridge in Bellingen reopened on Sunday afternoon as flood levels eased in the Bellinger River.
Mr Hunter urged people to stay away from floodwaters, with police issuing fines for motorists ignoring warning signs.
"In the Royal National Park we actually had to call police down to deal with people who were ignoring those signs and putting their lives and our lives at risk," he said.
"It's not worth your life."
AAP/ABC
Topics: weather, floods, disasters-and-accidents, murwillumbah-2484, wooli-2462, thora-2454, bellingen-2454, wauchope-2446, bowraville-2449, nsw
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