This included the rescue of a pregnant woman on Friday afternoon when, shortly before 5pm, NSW SES were called to Jacaranda Street in Forbes, where a woman and her midwife required urgent transportation.

Forbes SES unit rescuer Ryan Jones said the patient’s water had broken and her midwife assessed she needed admission to hospital.

“She was isolated by flood water in north Forbes, we had to transport her across the flooded river and waterways to the hospital,” he said. “The water was too deep and dangerous for private vehicles, so the only way for us to access this patient was via [the] use of our high clearance vehicles.”

Jones said it had been a busy day conducting other flood rescues, sandbagging and resupplying essential supplies. “It has been non-stop,” he said.

The SES remained concerned for areas along the Lachlan river – including Forbes and Cowra, the Murrumbidgee, Namoi, Murray and Barwon rivers.

SES Assistant Commissioner Nicole Hogan cautioned floods are very unsafe.

“It might be tempting to enter flooded water, but it can often be quite polluted,” she said. “It can contain all sorts of contaminants such as fecal matter, deceased animals, [and] hazardous chemicals which can pose all sorts of risks to your health.”

NSW Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke urged the community to remain on high alert, with river levels to remain high over the coming days.

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NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said 50 Australian Defence Force personnel would be deployed in Forbes and about 200 troops would be made available for flooded communities across the state.

Major rivers across western and southern NSW were flooding, including the Murrumbidgee at Wagga Wagga, the Murray at Moama, and the Lachlan. Lightning Ridge, Collarenebri and Walgett in the state’s north-west were all isolated by flood waters.

Water levels at Wagga Wagga, the largest inland town in NSW, peaked at 9.72 metres on Friday, the highest in more than a decade.

More than 2660 buildings have been assessed with 1147 damaged.

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Nolan’s three cats have joined two great danes at her friend’s house, a reunion she’s glad to have facilitated.

“The cats couldn’t just play parkour all day at the flat, and no matter how far they swam in any direction, they would have drowned,” she said.

“I think my cats are a bit more relaxed now.”

With AAP