A flood emergency is unfolding in the New South Wales Hunter Valley and Mid North Coast regions. Some areas have received more than 250 millimetres of rain with dozens of rescues and several evacuation orders in place. Thousands of homes are without power and there is more wild weather on the way.
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00:00They were expecting rain in Taree, just not this much.
00:07One of the crewmen rolled over to see what the problem was, stepped out of bed and he was almost knee deep in water.
00:12The water was even higher in parts of the Hunter's Dungog Shire, where an already soaked landscape copped a drenching beyond its capacity.
00:21It's probably been raining here for four or six weeks, and the ground is absolutely waterlogged.
00:28And this rain event over the last few days, the water hasn't had anywhere to go.
00:33That's resulted in a major flood warning for the Williams River.
00:37I think there was a lot of apprehension in Dungog, with obviously the rain falling.
00:42When the river started rising, people started to, to use the term, freak a little bit more.
00:47Some in Dungog have already evacuated, while residents further north are getting ready to go.
00:53A little bit nervous, like being a dad and all.
00:55I do want to protect my family and make sure I'm making the right decisions.
00:58Declan Batchelor woke up to a torrent gushing through his backyard.
01:02We've got emergency packs.
01:04If the same thing that's this morning happens again, and it's continuously raining, we'll just leave.
01:08It's hard to believe, but this road here in Warhope is actually a bridge.
01:13It's been completely engulfed by flood water and debris flowing along the Hastings River.
01:19It's one of dozens of roads across the region that will be closed for some time to come.
01:24There have been more than 40 flood rescues in the past 24 hours.
01:29Now, many of those rescues, unfortunately, are a result of people going through flood waters.
01:34We're just desperately, desperately seeking the public follow the advice that they do not drive through flood waters.
01:41The Gloucester and Paterson Rivers are also subject to major flood warnings.
01:46And with more rainfall set to enter catchments, the number of alerts and evacuations are expected to increase.
01:53That was the first night of another three or four nights we were getting through.
01:58A tough road ahead for much of the state.