Premier Gladys Berejiklian says it's a "miracle" no lives have been lost as record breaking floods push NSW communities still recovering from Black Summer bushfires, drought and COVID-19 to breaking point.
Homes have been swept away, livelihoods ruined and thousands evacuated amid torrential rain that has thrashed the region for days.
Some 20 evacuation orders are in place from the Mid-North Coast to the Illawarra and western and north-western Sydney, with the SES warning the deluge will continue and more evacuations are likely.
Ms Berejiklian says the weeks and months ahead for many across the state will be extremely difficult.
"All of us are thinking of you," she said on Monday.
"Some communities who were battered by the bushfires are now being battered by the floods and deep drought prior to that.
"I don't know anytime in our state's history when we've had these extreme weather conditions in such quick succession."
Rob Costigan, from Pappinbarra near Wauchope, said losing his home after surviving fire and drought was a "kick in the guts".
"We battled through the fires in 2019 to save the place just to have it washed away," he told ABC TV.
"It is heart wrenching."
Mr Costigan was able to save his dogs but holds grave fears for his livestock.
"The neighbours are saying that things are hanging from trees," he said.
Nearby Port Macquarie has copped some of the highest rainfall totals, with more than 800mm forcing SES volunteers to work 24-hour shifts, Superintendent Shane Cribb said.
"I have never seen rainfall like this. I have worked in a number of floods and this is the biggest one I have worked in in my career," he told ABC TV.
Restaurateur Nathan Tomkins says the past few days have been a nightmare rollercoaster.
After record flooding at the Hastings River over the weekend, his eatery was inundated with neck-high water.
The venture he's spent 24 years building is in ruins.
"The water just went right through and just destroyed everything. There is nothing left," he told ABC TV.
"This is just like a nightmare, it really is."
It isn't over yet either, with much of the mid north coast bracing for more flooding on Monday.
"I'm feeling like I'm on a roller coaster. I woke up this morning and I just pinch myself to go, 'Okay, this is not real'. But it's real," Mr Tomkins said.
Some 38 areas have been declared disaster zones, with those affected eligible to claim $1,000 per adult and $400 per child.
Almost a quarter of a million dollars has been raised on GoFundMe to support recovery efforts in the past 48 hours, including more than $100,000 for a Taree couple whose home washed away on their wedding day.
