Evacuation orders issued and rescues continue as flood waters devastate parts of central west NSW
- About three-quarters of the historic town is damaged.
- A hockey field has been destroyed and roads ripped up.
- The cleanup is underway in Molong but further warnings are in place for the area.
Dozens of people sheltered in an RSL overnight as an "unbelievable" deluge flooded a small rural town in central west NSW, destroying businesses with waters rising to roof height.
Vast swathes of the central west were battered by rain and powerful storms, with the force of the floodwaters smashing shop windows and knocking out the back wall of the local supermarket in Molong.
"It was just unbelievable how fast the water came," Mary Mulhall told AAP from from the Molong RSL on Monday.
"It rose really quick and then it sort of went down fairly quickly as well but it just devastated on its way through," she said.
About three-quarters of the historic town is damaged, with numerous roads ripped up and the new hockey field destroyed.
"The shop owners would be devastated because most of the shops have all gone and (the) supermarket's just gone altogether."
Real estate agent Scott Petersen said the town centre looked "apocalyptic" on Monday morning.
"There were cars pushed away, every shop has had five-foot of water through it," Mr Petersen said.
"It happened so quickly, it busted all the glass out and it was an absolute disaster.
Mr Petersen said his McGrath office had been flooded three times in less than 12 months.
"It's starting to wear a little bit thin."
Waters are now beginning to recede in Molong's main street, while State Emergency Service and Fire and Rescue crews begin a massive clean up.
It comes after both agencies launched into action about midnight, doorknocking homes, beginning evacuations and helping the ADF rescue people stranded on roofs.
The local IGA supermarket — the only one in the town — is completely destroyed, Ms Mulhall said, but locals have already organised a food delivery from a food bank to arrive in town Monday afternoon.
Among those rescued were two people and their dog from knee-deep water inside a house, a couple from the top floor of a motel and woman stranded in her inundated home where police officers had to wade through chest-high water to reach.
At least two large shipping containers were carried through the centre of the historic town by floodwaters and are blocking the Mitchell Highway.
Cabonne Mayor Kevin Beatty, whose territory includes Molong, says the picturesque town is devastated, with shops in the main street inundated and people evacuated from homes and motels.
Premier Dominic Perrottet urged people in flood-hit areas to follow emergency warnings, saying they were not given "for the sake of it".
"It may be the case that you don't see flooding around you when those orders are put in place - that is because we expect and predict further flooding moving forward," he said.
He urged people not to drive through floodwaters, saying a significant number of rescues carried out overnight were because people tried driving on flooded roads.
"You wouldn't drive through a bushfire - don't drive in floodwaters," Mr Perrottet said.
The SES in the area responded to 33 flood rescues and 462 requests for help in the 24 hours to Monday morning.
One rescue was under way for a man trapped in his car in the central-western town of Alectown who called for help just before 4am on Monday.
Police and Rural Fire Service personnel have spotted the vehicle and a helicopter had been deployed to help rescue the man.
Three new evacuation orders have been issued, including for people in low-lying areas of Eugowra, where flash-flooding is occurring as river levels continue to rise.
Major flooding is also occurring at Bathurst, west of the Blue Mountains, after the heavy falls over the Macquarie River catchment on Sunday, with a possibility that levees around the regional city could overtop on Monday afternoon.
The bureau says the immediate threat of severe thunderstorms has passed but the situation will be monitored and further warnings issued if necessary.
