Some residents are on high alert after an overnight drenching as Sydney’s largest dam spills into the rising Hawkesbury-Nepean river system.

National weather forecast for Friday June 7.

The ABC Ombudsman criticised three news bulletins that included unsubstantiated claims challenging the science behind the feral horse population estimate, but declined to rule on the journalist’s personal use of social media.

Hundreds of residents in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley were issued emergency warnings to flee as the river surged above moderate levels.

More than a dozen people were rescued from floodwaters across Sydney while evacuation warnings are still in place.