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Nearly 70 flood warnings are in place across NSW as the focus turns to the far south Riverina region, with more rain expected to lash large areas of the state this week.

A low pressure system bringing heavy rain and thunderstorms is forecast to hit NSW from Wednesday to Friday, before weakening and being followed by more drenching rain on the weekend.

The downpours could cause renewed flooding along rivers in parts of the north west, central west and southwest inland catchments, which are already flooding from months of persistent rain.

"There's a danger of flash-flooding from intense bursts from severe thunderstorms ... as well bringing with them the potential for some destructive wind gusts," Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Jane Golding said on Tuesday.

Some 300 people have already been evacuated from Moama, near the Victorian border, where residents are staring down the possibility by Friday of a flood higher than the 1993 event, the area's second worst on record.

Another evacuation was ordered north east of Moama near the Murray Valley Regional Park, with people told to leave by Tuesday evening before evacuation routes are cut off.

East Moama residents have been told to evacuate by 1pm Wednesday.

The State Emergency Service has dispatched more than 125,000 sandbags and set up two evacuation centres to accommodate up to 550 people in the region.

Nine aircraft are on standby throughout the state, along with five high-clearance vehicles, while up to 180 Defence personnel are available to assist in western NSW.

SES Assistant Commissioner Sean Kearns says the next 48 hours are crucial, with up to 3000 people on flood watch in communities near Moama.

Six flood rescues have taken place in the last 24 hours along with 50 requests for help, he said.

"The situation is not over and it's ... going to continue for several weeks to come," Mr Kearns told reporters.

"It might be blue sky but it doesn't mean it's not flooding and the rivers won't rise."

Premier Dominic Perrottet again warned many communities are in for a tough week.

"Our dams are full. Our rivers are full," he told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.

"It's going to be a difficult time but we've got through difficult times in the past."

Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke says the wet conditions are testing the resolve of flood-weary communities.

"This is what living through a third consecutive La Nina event looks like," she said.

"Our grounds are saturated and we are continuing to see rain and more rain".

Major flooding continues on the Macquarie River at Warren in the central west, with river heights slowly falling.

The Murrumbidgee River could reach major flooding at Narrandera on Tuesday night, 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.

People in Forbes who were forced to evacuate after the Lachlan River burst its banks last week have been told they can return with caution but have been advised to stay out of floodwaters.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Mr Perrottet visited the region on Monday.

Mr Albanese warned flood threats were 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.

© AAP 2022

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The Bureau of Meteorology's unexpected $70,000 rebranding of its nickname under the former government has sparked a maelstrom of bemused and waggish responses.

The national weather forecaster asked media outlets to stop referring to it by its longstanding household nickname "the BoM", or "the Weather Bureau".

Instead, it wants to be called "the Bureau" at second reference, in line it says with the 1955 Meteorology Act.

"With an ever-increasing number of severe weather events, it is more crucial than ever that the Bureau of Meteorology's insights, wisdom, data and information are shared, understood and acted upon," it said in a statement on Tuesday.

"To support this need, the Bureau of Meteorology asks that media outlets update editorial style to ensure references to the organisation are by its full name, the Bureau of Meteorology or the Bureau for short, and not BOM or the Weather Bureau."

Federal Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek said she is not focused on the rebrand amid ongoing flood and weather disasters and that the decision came under the directions of the former government.

"I am focused on making sure the Bureau of Meteorology is providing the most accurate and timely information to communities affected by floods," she said in a statement.

"The rebrand commenced under the previous government for reasons I don't quite understand."

The contract for the Bureau's rebranding was awarded to The C Word Communications Agency and signed in September of 2021 for $69,300.

The Bureau of Meteorology also announced it would change its Twitter handle to @TheBureau_Au with new variations, such as @TheBureau_NSW for each state and territory.

The changes have created a hailstorm on social media where users responded with jokes, outrage or approval.

AFL club Carlton FC joined in on the action with a reference to one of their stars Tom De Koning.

"We no longer want Tom De Koning to be called "TDK" ... Please refer to him either as "Koning" or "The Tom". Thanks in advance," the club said on Twitter.

Satirical comedy group the Chaser also weighed in.

"We used to beg media to call us The Chaser rather than their preferred names of The Chasers, The Chaser Boys, The Chaser Team, or worst of all Those Cheeky Chaps from The Chaser," they tweeted.

However, it later emerged that all of the Bureau of Meteorology's intended handles were either already taken or had been snatched within an hour of the changes being announced.

Twitter user Keelan, whose handle is @TheBureau_NSW wrote:

"Absolute rookie mistake by the Bureau of Meteorology to announce what they were changing their Twitter handle to BEFORE they actually did it," wrote Keelan.

The organisation's intended @TheBureau_Vic handle was set up by a user on Tuesday morning.

The user has named the account "BOM Vic" and included a link to a private account on the online payment website Venmo.

There is also uncertainty about whether the forecaster will change the name of its BOM Weather app and official website.

AAP has sought comment from the Bureau of Meteorology about the changes.

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Russia has again attacked Ukraine with drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says, after a day of strikes on cities in which at least four people were killed and a US warning it will hold Russia accountable for war crimes.

Russian forces also targeted infrastructure across Ukraine in the second wave of air strikes in a week, first in the morning as people went to work and school and again later on Monday.

The Russian strikes followed advances by Ukrainian forces in the east and south and after an October 8 blast on a bridge linking mainland Russia to Crimea - the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

"Right now, there is a new Russian drone attack," Zelenskiy, said in a Monday evening video address. "There are (drones) that have been shot down."

The Interfax Ukraine news agency said Telegram users had reported blasts in the town of Fastiv just outside Kyiv, as well as in the southern port of Odesa.

Earlier on Monday, Ukrainian soldiers fired into the air trying to shoot down drones, and as residents raced for shelter, after blasts rocked the capital Kyiv.

US President Joe Biden's press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the White House "strongly condemns Russia's missile strikes" and said the attack "continues to demonstrate Putin's brutality".

Mentioning a $US725 million military aid package announced for Ukraine last Friday, Jean-Pierre said the United States would stand with the people of Ukraine "for as long as it takes".

"We will continue to impose costs on Russia, hold them accountable for its war crimes," she said.

A pregnant woman was among four people killed in an attack on a Kyiv residential building, mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Ukraine's Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi said there had been deaths in other cities but did not provide a full toll.

Black smoke poured out of the windows of the Kyiv apartment building and emergency service workers toiled to douse flames.

"I have never been so afraid ... It is murder, it is simply murder," said Vitalii Dushevskiy, 29, a food delivery courier who rents an apartment in the building.

Russia denies targeting civilians. Its defence ministry said it had carried out a "massive" attack on military targets and energy infrastructure across Ukraine using high-precision weapons.

Ukraine said the attacks were carried out by Iran-made "suicide drones", which fly to their target and detonate. The United States, Britain and France agreed that Iran supplying drones to Russia would violate a UN Security Council resolution that endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six powers.

Iran on Monday stuck to its denial that it is supplying the drones to Russia, while the Kremlin has not commented.

The White House accused Iran of lying when it says Iranian drones were not being used by Russia in Ukraine.

Asked for comment, the Iranian mission to the United Nations repeated a statement issued by the government on Friday that said it supports upholding the UN Charter and the UN attempts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

Several EU foreign ministers on Monday called for sanctions against Iran over the transfer of drones to Russia.

Ukraine's military said it had destroyed 37 Russian drones since Sunday evening, or around 85% of those used in attacks.

In Russia itself, a Russian fighter plane crashed into a residential building in the southern city of Yeysk, engulfing apartments in flames and killing up to 13 people, the Interfax news agency reported.

The Su34 fighter-bomber crashed during a training flight after one of its engines burst into flames, Tass reported, adding that the pilots ejected.

Russia's state Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal case. Yeysk is separated from occupied Russian territory in southern Ukraine by a narrow stretch of the Sea of Azov.

Russia and Ukraine on Monday, meanwhile, carried out one of the biggest prisoner swaps of the war, exchanging a total of 218 detainees, including 108 Ukrainian women, officials from both sides said.

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Many of Australia's most popular diesel vehicles are involved in "one of the biggest claims in Australia's legal history" alleging Toyota used "defeat devices" to hide vehicle emissions and evade Australian standards.

Up to half a million Australian car owners could be represented in the class-action lawsuit lodged in Victoria's Supreme Court on Monday by Maddens Lawyers, with its lead lawyer warning the company could be forced to pay out up to $1 billion.

Popular vehicles targeted in the lawsuit range from four-wheel drives to utes and vans including the Toyota Hi-Lux, LandCruiser, RAV4, Prado, Fortuner, Granvia and HiAce.

Toyota vehicles purchased since February 2016, whether new or second-hand, will be included in the case.

In a statement, however, Toyota said it stood by its reporting of all vehicle emissions and would defend itself "rigorously".

Maddens Lawyers special counsel Brendan Pendergast said the lawsuit would claim some Toyota vehicles used "sophisticated engineering" and "multiple sensors" to comply with emissions standards during test conditions but not in real-world use.

"We allege that not through accident but through deliberate engineering intervention, these vehicles are fitted with what are generically called defeat devices," he said.

"When the vehicle comes under load or achieves speeds commonly required in the usual purchaser of a vehicle, the vehicle no longer complies with the emission standards."

Mr Pendergast claimed the vehicles' true emissions would appear only when the vehicle was driven at higher speeds, outside testing, and may have convinced buyers to invest in Toyota vehicles under false pretences.

"Many Toyota owners would be shocked, disappointed," Mr Pendergast said.

"'This class action is one of the biggest claims in Australia's legal history. It could result in each participant receiving tens of thousands of dollars of compensation."

The lawyer estimated a settlement in the case, if proven in court, could reach between $500 million and $1 billion.

Maddens Lawyers, whose court action is being funded by a British legal firm, is calling on Toyota vehicle owners to join its class action online.

But Toyota Australia issued a statement rejecting claims made in the lawsuit.

"Toyota Australia stands by its reporting, monitoring and evaluation standards in relation to the emissions for all its vehicles," it said.

"We will defend the class action announced today rigorously."

Toyota is the largest vehicle manufacturer in Australia by a significant margin, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, selling more than 14,000 vehicles in September. The Toyota Hi-Lux was Australia's top-selling vehicle for the month.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific senior campaigner Lindsay Soutar said claims made in the lawsuit would be "incredibly disappointing" for Australian motorists.

"If the allegations are made out, the case is another alarm bell to Toyota that it needs to clean up its act and get in the fast lane with electric vehicles," Ms Soutar said.

The class-action lawsuit is the latest in a series of court cases against vehicle manufacturers over defeat devices, or hardware, software and designs that change the way vehicles operate during emission testing to evade standards.

Another two Australian law firms are pursuing class-action lawsuits against Toyota subsidiary Hino over emissions from its trucks.

In a March statement, the company it had "identified misconduct" related to its compliance with emissions regulations.

In December 2019, Australia's Federal Court ordered Volkswagen to pay $125 million for masking emissions from its diesel vehicles - the second largest penalty issued for a breach of Australian Consumer Law.

© AAP 2022