More rain is forecast after a deadly storm knocked out power and delivered heavy falls, with crews still working to mop up the overnight damage.
Storms and rain on Thursday are expected to be less severe, but people are being asked to monitor forecasts and steer clear of danger.
A man was killed by a fallen tree and thousands of others remain without power after heavy rain, winds and lightning lashed a swathe of Australia’s southeast on Wednesday.
The driver, believed to be in his 80s, was killed in Cowra as a thunderstorm tore through central NSW before settling over Sydney and the coast.
Another four people were injured in Wagga Wagga when high winds ripped off the roofs of their demountable huts.
NSW State Emergency Service crews received more than 2250 calls and responded to more than 1800 incidents in the 24 hours to 5am on Thursday, predominantly for fallen trees and property damage.
SES chief superintendent Dallas Burnes said volunteers were working through about 1100 outstanding jobs on Thursday morning, with more storms and rain predicted around the northern areas of the state.
“We are concerned, obviously there’s a lot of holidaymakers up there … people unfamiliar with those locations might be caught out,” he told ABC TV.
“You could see some really sharp river rises there that you’re not prepared for.”
A minor flood watch has been issued for the Orara, Coffs Coast, Bellinger and Kalang river catchments, Manning and Gloucester, Myall River, Karuah River, Wollombi Brook and Lower Hunter, and the Paterson and Williams rivers.
Crews worked to restore power to 95,000 customers, with more than 155,000 customers experiencing blackouts during the peak of the outages.
Newcastle bore the brunt, with more than 60,000 customers affected, as well as 31,000 in Sydney and 4000 on the Central Coast, distributor Ausgrid said.
About 40,000 customers had since been reconnected,
Supply to 55,000 customers in the Blue Mountains, Sydney’s west, the Illawarra region and south coast was impacted, with 20,000 since restored, Endeavour Energy said.
The heaviest rainfall came on the south coast, where 127mm fell at Eurobodalla and 102mm at Barlows Bay in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday.
Severe thunderstorms will combine with a low-pressure weather system, expected to bring up to 80mm of rain until Saturday, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.
Friday will see the worst of the rain, including falls of up to 100mm predicted in some areas.
