Two parts of NSW prepare for major flooding breaching 1993 records

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Residents in northern and southern New South Wales are nervously waiting for flood levels to rise as a dangerous weather system bears down on Australia's east coast.

An evacuation order has been issued for Moree, in the state's north, with around 4000 people told to leave their homes now.

The NSW SES said major flood levels have been reached on the Mehi and Gwydir rivers.

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https://twitter.com/NSWSES/status/1583381782577442816

"You must evacuate now because inundation of properties is expected overnight Fri(day) into Sat(urday)," the alert said.

Evacuation centres have been set up at the Moree PCYC on Boston Street.

Meanwhile in the state's south, Moama has spent yet another day waiting on the swollen Murray River to break its banks and potentially leave hundreds of homes flooded.

The Murray River currently sits above 94 metres at Echuca.

"The river has come up three, four or five inches overnight but we're confident the levee bank around the town is going to survive," Murray River Council mayor Chris Bilkey said.

"We're just hoping that the river is not going to rise too much more."

Floodwaters at Moama in NSW.

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"Flood levels are expected to exceed the 1993 flood event, from Tuesday. Extensive sandbagging and other preparations have been underway for several days," NSW SES said.

The river isn't expected to peak until Sunday night into Monday leaving residents weary after preparing for more than a week.

"We're buckling down for another week of really high water here," Bilkey said.

More than 300 calls for help were received overnight while 17 flood rescues were carried out.

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Floodwaters at Moama in NSW.

Widespread thunderstorms are threatening large parts of NSW, with communities bracing for flash flooding in the coming days.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued more than 20 weather warnings.

The wet weather is expected to continue over the weekend and into next week.

Residents are advised to keep across BoM's warnings as the system bears down. NSW warnings can be viewed here, Victoria here, and Queensland here. 

Source: 9News