A man's body has been recovered from floodwaters southwest of Sydney and further evacuation orders have been issued as the SES works through its toughest season in living memory.
While heavy rains are forecast to ease Friday, a large amount of water dumped on saturated catchments meant flooding would continue on Friday night and Saturday.
"Although that rain has eased we're still seeing a flooding threat in some communities," NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey told the ABC.
He said river rises were continuing through the Hawkesbury-Nepean and evacuation orders remained in placed in a number of low-lying suburbs.
"We're urging people in those communities to remain vigilant," Mr Storey said.
About 1200 people were affected by the evacuation orders, and warnings to leave covered a further 1500 people.
Rivers heights in the Hawkesbury-Nepean are expected to peak on Friday night and Saturday morning.
"Hopefully we'll be able to lift those evacuation orders and evacuation warnings as soon as it's safe to do so," Mr Storey said.
The recent series of severe weather events had taken a toll on communities and SES rescuers, he said.
"It has been a very tough few months for communities across NSW including in Western Sydney with multiple, major weather events," Mr Storey said.
"It is heartbreaking. It's been a very tough storm season, one of the toughest in recent memory for the SES."
The SES has taken 710 calls for help and carried out 53 rescues in the last 24 hours, and a total 2349 calls for help and 710 rescues since the rain event began Monday.
More than 1200 SES volunteers have been on the ground on Friday.
Earlier on Friday, the body of a 68-year-old man was found in a submerged van southwest of Sydney before 8am.
His body was retrieved about 1pm following an operation by police divers and the SES but he is yet to be formally identified.
On Friday afternoon residents in Sackville North, parts of Ebenezer, Leets Vale and Pitt Town Bottoms were told to evacuate due to rising floodwaters, adding to a total list of 13 orders to leave in 11 different suburbs.
Residents in Chipping Norton, Woronora and Bonnet Bay in Sydney's southwest were given the all-clear to return home after being ordered to evacuate on Thursday.
The Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley is being monitored after moderate flooding at North Richmond, Windsor, Menangle, Camden and Wallacia on Friday.
Minor flood levels had also peaked at Penrith and Sackville on Friday but remained steady on Friday afternoon, and water continues to spill at Warragamba Dam.
"Despite the substantial flooding that we've seen across our state, what is incredibly pleasing has been that we've only lost a very few amount of lives, and that has occurred because of the efforts that everyone has made across our state in following the instructions of the SES," NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said Friday.
Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said the state had flood fatigue but people needed to keep following the advice of emergency services.
"It will stop raining, it will get better," Ms Cooke said.
"We just need to keep (getting) through this one day at a time."
The BoM's Jane Golding also warned flooding would continue despite rain easing.
"We do have flood warnings current, though, so although the rain is easing ... the rivers will be moving quickly (and) there's a lot of debris flowing around," she said.
Some 155 public schools were closed Friday due to adverse weather, predominantly around Greater Sydney, the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions, the NSW education department said.
Flood watches have been lifted for rivers in the Central and South Coast.
A major flood peak above levels seen during the April 1988 floods passed through Menangle on Thursday afternoon, and waters are falling in the area.
At Wallacia, the Nepean peaked on Friday morning at moderate flood levels, and waters are falling.
Australian Associated Press
