Authorities have pleaded with residents to cancel holidays and avoid floodwaters, as parts of NSW and the Illawarra continue to be inundated with rescue requests.

In a press conference on Monday morning, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said that a massive 71 evacuation orders and 64 evacuation warnings were in place, with 83 flood rescues and 1593 requests for assistance lodged since 9pm Sunday. While flood waters have peaked, or are close to peaking in Menangle, and North Richmond, the situation is expected to worsen for the Windsor and the Lower Portland areas. Major flooding has been predicted to hit on Monday afternoon, before it moves downstream to Sackville and Wisemans Ferry.

Mr Perrottet also issued a stern warning for affected residents to abide by instructions and in particular, to strictly avoid driving into flood waters.

“If there is an evacuation warning in place, please get ready to evacuate. If there is an evacuation order in place, please leave immediately,” he said.

“These instructions, warnings, orders, they are not in place for the sake of it.”

Despite three days of devastating rain, Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cook warned the state was “not quite out of the woods yet”.

She said a Commonwealth announcement for wider recovery measures would be announced on Tuesday, however the process would be kickstarted where it was possible to do so. While no official State of Disaster was announced, the Australian Defence Force has received requests for additional support under the Commonwealth disaster recovery plan.

“We have SES communities at the Georges River area, looking at the impact of this latest flooding on people’s homes, their businesses and the local infrastructure, working closely with councils, of course, to make sure that is all captured,” said Ms Cook.

“That will form the basis of our discussions with the Federal Government in relation to rolling up support for communities as we look to get people back on their feet.”

Speaking on ABC’s News Breakfast, the Federal emergency management minister Murray Watt said he believed the state government would declare a state of disaster. This would allow the NSW government greater powers in administering directives to help affected areas.

Conditions ‘too rough’ to winch stranded crew

Concerns have also been made for a bulk carrier vessel in Portland Bay which departed Wollongong on Monday morning.

Carrying 21 crew members, the ship had lost power near the Royal National Park, with fears it risked crashing into a cliff face a mere 1km away.

Mr Perrottet said the vessel was in a “very precarious position,” however the ship was currently double anchored, with a rescue plan in place. Two tug boats have been sent to direct the ship away from the cliff face.

In an update from Surf Life Saving NSW, it said the conditions were too rough for Westpac Rescue Helicopters, who were unable to winch the crew from the stranded ship.

Weather for Monday in affected areas of NSW

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a number of severe weather warnings in the wake of the East Coast Low.

The weather system touched land late on Sunday and is forecast to linger for another day, before steadily moving north.

The low has weakened, but the trough is still directing humid air onshore, causing moderate to at times heavy rainfall. Drier air will push gradually northwards up the NSW coast through the afternoon, clearing most of the rain out of the Illawarra, Blue Mountains and Sydney regions by late this evening.

The BOM said although rain rates have generally eased, heavy falls are still possible today in the Illawarra region, the Blue Mountains, Sydney, central coast and parts of the Hunter. Six-hourly rainfall totals between 60 to 100mm are possible and that could lead to flooding.

The low is causing very heavy surf which may lead to localised damage and coastal erosion.

Significant wave heights of over five meters are likely, with peak periods around 11 seconds.

Man dies in NSW floods

A fierce East Coast Low weather system is battering a huge stretch of the New South Wales coast.

But it’s saved the majority of its weather wrath for Sydney and the Illawarra.

Forecasters have said the horrendous conditions will continue on Monday, with up to 100mm of rain due to fall in Sydney, 150mm possible in Wollongong and up to 200mm in isolated pockets elsewhere.

Those totals can be added to the huge amount of rain that’s fallen over the last few days.

One man has died and flash and riverine flooding has occurred in and beyond Sydney.

“The next 24 hours will decide how high the floods peak along the Hawkesbury River such as around Richmond, where the water levels have already risen substantially,” said Sky News Weather meteorologist Rob Sharp.

“And they could go a lot further than that, depending on how much falls with this system.”

- by Benedict Brook and Jessica Wang, news.com.au