Rural and regional NSW residents face an anxious wait for floodwaters to arrive as rain continues to swell rivers amid ongoing inundation across south eastern Australia.
Focus is turning to the south of the state in the Riverina region and near the Victorian border, where residents are staring down the possibility of a flood higher than the 1993 event, the area's second worst on record.
Mathoura residents east of the Cobb Highway have been told to evacuate by 10am on Tuesday before routes out are expected to be cut off.
Residents at a Moama caravan park and in the nearby Indigenous community Cummeragunja were told to evacuate on Monday.
Flood forecasts are being updated as peaks are observed upstream.
Moama has been warned to expect major flooding from Thursday, along with Echuca across the border in Victoria.
Heights could exceed the 1993 flood by Friday, the Bureau of Meteorology warns.
Major flooding continues from the Macquarie River at Warren in central west NSW, with waters expected to remain high until at least mid-week.
The Murrumbidgee River could reach major flooding at Narrandera on Tuesday, where residents were told to evacuate over the weekend.
The water will then flow downstream to Hay, which could experience major flooding by the end of the week.
Residents in Forbes forced to evacuate after the Lachlan River burst its banks last week have been told they can return with caution.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet visited the region on Monday.
Mr Albanese warned flood threats are likely to continue for some time.
"We are living in very dangerous times in the days and weeks ahead," he said.
Mr Perrottet called for vigilance in flood-threatened communities through summer and urged people to follow the advice of emergency services agencies.
Thunderstorms expected to develop from Tuesday could add further heavy rainfall to already saturated catchments, with river heights likely to respond quickly.
The Northern Rivers region of NSW was warned of a severe thunderstorm on Monday afternoon - cancelled and then reissued after the storm redeveloped in the evening.
© AAP 2022