In Cabramatta, firefighters rescued 10 people including two seniors from a home surrounded by flood water, Fire and Rescue NSW said.

In Sydney’s CBD, there will be a forecast top of 18 degrees and 15 to 20 millimetres of rain, while Camden is expected to receive six to 10mm of rainfall. Meanwhile, parts of the Illawarra region, which have been inundated with rain over the past three days, will see an easing of conditions while Kiama is likely to get 10 to 15mm of rain and Nowra six to 10mm.

Despite less rainfall, authorities remain concerned about overflowing rivers, coastal erosion, damaging wind and hazardous surf conditions, with NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York warning, “We are not out of the danger yet.”

There had been more than 3900 requests for assistance and more than 85 flood rescues as of Monday 3pm. While some residents in western Sydney have been told they may return home, authorities are urging people not to move through floodwaters.

Weatherzone meteorologist Andrew Schmidt said conditions were expected to ease over the state, but some models show between 50 to 100mm of rain impacting the Central Coast and Newcastle regions on Tuesday.

“There is a little bit of uncertainty – that’s the worst-case scenario,” he said. “Showers are almost guaranteed for flood-affected areas, but it will be much less intense.“

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He added as the east coast low moves off the coast, it is expected to merge with a second east coast low and push towards New Zealand. However, rain will remain over much of the state for the rest of the week as a low-pressure system in the Tasman sea pushes more moisture along the east coast.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said governments were required to learn from previous flood events and adjust their responses because there’s “no doubt” these events were becoming more common. He said he had been impressed with the way the federal government had improved its response to this flood event when compared with the earlier trio this year.

In the coming days, the NSW government is expected to announce natural disaster declaration zones over some flood-affected areas, which will mean some people are eligible for financial aid.

For many in flood-affected areas, the clean-up is only just beginning. For others, it never ended after previous flooding events in March and April this year. Tennis Camden head coach Laurie Geist has only experienced floods four times – all of which have been this year.

The first two times he lost everything, with the council condemning the clubhouse. In the months since, it has stood empty, growing more mould. Since the April floods, he has been without electricity, having to run a lead 50 metres to a nearby business just to keep the power on.

But this latest flood has been heartbreaking. Currently, the tennis courts are a metre-and-a-half under water.

“Where else do I go? I am 62 years old – I am not looking for another job,” Geist said. “I am struggling, lying awake at night. I’ve got to find a good book, otherwise I can’t sleep. You are thinking of all the things you have to do … it’s just heartbreaking. But we soldier on, we keep going and we’ll just see what happens next.”

Geist said he hoped the water would recede enough to allow him to survey the extent of the damage on Tuesday. “I’ll be down there every day for the next two and a half weeks straight, working… in gumboots and cold feet and hands, just trying to get the whole [business] up and running,” he said.

With Angus Thomson

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