The city also notched up its wettest March on record and its wettest 16-day period on record between late February and early March, Weatherzone said.
“Only time will tell if 2022 can challenge Sydney’s wettest calendar year on record, which was 2194.0mm in 1950,” Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said.
In the 24 hours to 5.30am on Thursday, the SES received a total 585 requests for assistance, 348 of which were within the Greater Sydney region.
Before Thursday’s mid-morning rescue at Epping, there were seven flood rescues across Sydney and the state’s south-east reported by the SES in the same period. At Pittwater Road in Dee Why, one video showed water being pushed out of a drain and flooding the footpath and road.
Meanwhile, the SES said oil and diesel had overflowed onto roads and mixed with floodwaters in Kurnell after a pump in the suburb’s Caltex Refinery failed early on Thursday morning.
Residents in the area took to social media to report smelling petrol early on Thursday morning.
The SES said the pump failure at Australia’s largest fuel import terminal was attended to by emergency services, who were managing the hazardous material and working to prevent contamination. The incident has resulted in urgent road closures in and around the Kurnell township.
Fire and Rescue NSW assured residents there was no risk of danger in the area as fuel runs across the roadways.
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The Sutherland Shire appeared to be one of the hardest-hit areas of the latest deluge. The evacuation warning for Woronora and Bonnet Bay was issued about 5.30am on Thursday.
The NSW SES asked residents and business owners in those areas to begin gathering essential and valuable items and to prepare to leave as early as possible.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast the Upper Nepean River will reach major flood level at Menangle, in the state’s Macarthur region, on Thursday evening.
The bureau is also predicting the Georges River to reach major flood levels by late Thursday afternoon. Minor to major floods are expected at the Woronora River.
A minor to moderate flooding warning is also in place for the Nepean, Hawkesbury and Colo rivers from Thursday morning onwards and the bureau is forecasting major flooding at Liverpool and Milperra on Thursday afternoon.
The weather bureau reported Cronulla South Bowls Club was hit by 107mm of rain in the three hours to 1.10 am on Thursday. Little Bay recorded 107mm in the six hours to 2.30am, while Lucas Heights saw 57mm just two hours to 2.40am.
Further south, Darkes Forest reported 67mm in the two hours to 4.50am on Thursday.
The weather bureau is forecasting that six-hourly rainfall totals between 60 to 100mm are likely, reaching up to 140 mm over coastal areas.
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