NSW weather LIVE updates: Domestic flight cancellations, Sydney ...

Lismore may have avoided flooding along the Wilsons River, but that didn’t stop others from getting into trouble on submerged roads in the area.

When Leanne Graham went down to feed her horses on her property along Boatharbour Rd outside Lismore this morning, she spotted an elderly man sitting on the roof of a submerged four wheel drive.

Keith Graham rescuing a man from a submerged car at his farm on Boatharbour Road near Lismore this morning.Credit:

Her husband Keith, a Lismore-based solicitor, waded and then swam out to rescue the man, who he estimated was in his late 70s.

“He was a bit shaken up, he’d been there for about half an hour,” he said. “We wouldn’t have seen him if my wife hadn’t been down to feed the horse.

Graham said the culvert was one of the lowest points in the area and the first to flood. They moved their horses yesterday as the creek rapidly filled.

Graham (left) said the car remained submerged on the road near his property.Credit:

The car remains submerged in the floodwater, while a family member came to collect the man this morning, Graham said.

“He’s a very fortunate man.”

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Ambulances have responded to a major crash in the state’s west this afternoon.

Emergency services were called to the Castlereagh Highway at Aarons Pass, which is just south of Mudgee, following reports that two cars had been involved in a crash about 2pm.

Two children have been flown to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

A man in his 50s has been taken to Mudgee Health Service, a NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said.

Another man in his 60s has been flown to Royal North Shore in a helicopter while another man, in his 30s, has also been taken to another hospital.

The highway is closed in both directions.

The number of trains taking Sydneysiders home on Friday afternoon will be dramatically reduced as the brunt of the East Coast low – expected to worsen before Saturday morning – wreaks havoc across the city.

Transport authorities are scrambling to reduce the frequency of peak-hour train services on Friday afternoon in a bid to avoid the network being clogged, after rain damaged signalling equipment at Redfern station.

The NSW State Emergency Service has told residents of the southwest Sydney suburb of Chipping Norton to prepare to evacuate due to predicted dangerous flooding.

All properties in the following streets in Chipping Norton may be flooded: Newbridge Road between Riverside Road and east to Georges River, Riverside Road between Childs Road and Newbridge Road, Davy Robinson Drive, Rickard Road and Arthur Street.

Liverpool Council said Riverside Road at Chipping Norton was closed while debris was cleared from road but should be cleared soon. Other roads impacted include:

Anzac Road, Wattle Grove - creek is close to covering road, council is monitoring, water over road signs in placeCambridge Avenue, off Moorebank Avenue is nearly covered, water over road signage in place, gates open for nowRiverside Road, Chipping Norton - CLOSED while clearing debris from road, should be clear soonGurner Avenue, Austral – more of road CLOSED now between Devonshire Road and Fourth AvenueNorth Avenue, Rossmore - CLOSED between Bellfield and Rossmore Avenue

The State Emergency Service has issued dozens more flood warnings for local areas across NSW in the past 30 minutes.

Minor flooding is expected on the Cooks River at Tempe Bridge, Woronora and surrounds, while minor to major flooding on the Upper Nepean River may affect Menangle and surrounds, Camden and surrounds, Wallacia and surrounds.

The city might have largely escaped flooding, but it was tricky for commuters to stay dry.Credit: Louise Douvis

On the South Coast, minor flooding on the St Georges Basin catchment is expected, including at Sanctuary Point and Sussex Inlet. At Nowra, minor to moderate flooding on the Shoalhaven River is possible

North of Sydney, there may be minor flooding at Lake Macquarie while the Manning and Gloucester Rivers may flood around Taree.

You can check the full list of SES warnings at its website here.

Scenic World in the Blue Mountains has posted a stunning photo of a waterfall this morning as the area is drenched as the weather system moves across the state.

Scenic World said it had closed boardwalks due to the rainfall, and other events had been cancelled later today for safety reasons but the centre remained open for visitors.

Katoomba is forecast for more rain the next 24 hours, with the Bureau forecasting 150 to 250 millimetres on Friday.

Meanwhile, Parramatta in the city’s west is experiencing minor flooding across low-lying areas as the river rises.

The Parramatta ferry wharf has been flooded. Flood advice issued by the Parramatta City Council said footbridges across the river at Barry Wilde Bridge and at Charles Street Weir may be closed.

The Parramatta River on Friday afternoon.Credit: X: @zahribeth

River levels had reached 1.2 metres shortly after 1pm today. The Parramatta branch of the Powerhouse Museum, which is currently under construction, was still untouched by the rising river levels.

At the Riverside Theatre, river heights had reached 2.16 metres by 2.41pm on Friday afternoon, Bureau of Meteorology river level data said.

The deputy commissioner of the NSW State Emergency Service, Deborah Platz, has just been discussing the weather situation on ABC News.

She says the agency has received 823 calls for assistance, mostly along the NSW coast.

SES volunteers at a road closure on Stony Creek Road at Shane’s Park. Credit: Wolter Peeters

Platz said those calls for mainly have been for fallen trees, leaking roofs and sandbagging.

“What we would ask people to do [is] please stay indoors. Please avoid driving, particularly in flooded areas, wherever you possibly can,” she said.

SES crews are on the ground in five of the state’s seven emergency zones, with 836 volunteers out and about over the last 24 hours.

Thanks for following along with our rolling coverage of the wild weather gripping Sydney and eastern NSW today. I’ll hand over to my colleague Christopher Harris in a second. Before then, a quick update on where we sit just after 2pm AEDT:

Commuters across Sydney are facing major delays after rain damaged equipment at Redfern Station, while more than 100 flights in and out of Sydney Airport have been delayed or cancelled. Nine schools are currently closed across the state. A severe weather warning is in place for Sydney, the Illawarra and the Central Tablelands. The Bureau of Meteorology is warning intense local rainfall between the Blue Mountains and Narooma may lead to “dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding” from this evening into Saturday morning.In the Northern Rivers, a local farmer rescued a man from floodwater outside his farm near Lismore this morning. The Wilsons River at Lismore peaked at 3.8 metres this morning, lower than the minor flood level it was expected to hit overnight.Warragamba Dam – which supplies much of Sydney’s drinking water – is expected to spill on Monday morning as the catchment fills. Water NSW chief executive Andrew George said the dam was currently at 96.3 per cent of capacity, meaning the 100 to 150 millimetres of rain expected would cause the dam to fill and spill.

That’s all from me. Stay safe out there.