Farmers in north-west NSW are preparing to be cut off after the Namoi River broke its banks, with more heavy rain likely to increase flooding risk later in the week.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued flood warnings for the river, including major flooding at Wee Waa and Gunnedah after the river peaked early on Sunday. Meanwhile, river levels along the Namoi River at Gunnedah fell below the minor flood level Monday morning. The river at Narrabri is set to peak on Tuesday evening.

Farmers in the Wee Waa region will most likely be cut off due to the state of wet, unsealed roads, and have been advised to move their livestock and machinery to higher ground. Emergency services are on call to deliver supplies to farming families who become isolated.

In the past 24 hours to Monday 3pm, there had been 14 requests for assistance and three flood rescues.

NSW SES western zone commander Chief Superintendent David Monk said the majority of the community had listened to messaging, but there were still people driving through floodwater.

“It is not worth the risk to you or the people in your vehicle to try and drive through floodwater,” he said. If you find a flooded road, stop, turn around and find another way. You cannot see the condition of the road when it is covered by floodwater. You may drive it all the time on your daily commute, but that doesn’t make it safe to drive on when it is flooded.”

Narrabri Council Mayor Ron Campbell said that, while the Namoi River closer to town was rising, it wasn’t the worst flood they’ve seen. The area, like many regions of the state, has experienced floods over the past few months. But Campbell said the heavy rain had been beneficial for the community after years of drought.

“We are used to living on floodplains and the Wee Waa community knows how to deal with it,” he said. “We’ve had a fair bit more rain since the ’70s but rain makes us money out here – as much as it can hurt us at times, we don’t like to complain about it. The floodwaters put nutrients back in the soil.”