A woman's body has been found inside a property in flood-impacted Lismore.
NSW Police said the body of the woman in her 80s — yet to be formally identified — was found inside the home.
It was discovered by a member of the public who attended the home on Ewing Street and was concerned for the welfare of their neighbour.
There have been 1,000 rescues carried out to date amid "unprecedented" flooding in northern New South Wales, as authorities warn the extreme weather is moving south.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet spoke of the "devastating images" of people in flood zones in the Northern Rivers region as he provided a media update on Tuesday.
"We’ve seen people stranded on roofs for hours, we’ve seen children being rescued, we’re seeing people stranded on bridges. But importantly as well, we’re also seeing a community come together ... to get everyone through," he told reporters.
"And that’s the spirit of the people in the Northern Rivers and right across our state. We’ll be doing everything, continue to do everything that we can, to get everyone to safety."
Mr Perrottet repeated that the flooding event is an "unprecedented" and "one-in-1,000 year event", saying it is "distressing for many and will affect more".
"The ultimate focus now is saving lives and getting people to safety," he said.
NSW State Emergency Service Commissioner Carlene York said "there are some people reported missing".
"I know there's a lot of activity on social media of people not being able to contact loved ones or friends. That may be that they are actually in danger. It may also be the intermittent communications we're having up there at the moment."
She invited anyone who was concerned about their family members or loved ones to register their concerns via service online.
Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said the scenes in northern NSW had never been seen before and were “truly distressing”.
“We must all prepare ourselves for the possibility that lives have been lost,” Ms Cooke said.
“Whilst I would love to think, and I truly hope, that we will not see any deaths from this event, I think that it is unrealistic that a disaster of this magnitude will mean that there are no lives lost.“
Towns across northern NSW, including Lismore and Ballina, are underwater and rivers are peaking even as the rain stopped.
So far, the premier said there has has been 1,000 flood rescues, along with 6,000 calls for assistance.
There are currently 26 evacuation orders in place affecting 40,000 people, he said. In addition, there are five evacuation warnings in place affecting over 300,000 people.
Flooding is seen in Pottsville, Northern NSW, Tuesday, 1 March, 2022. Source: AAP / JASON O’BRIEN/AAPIMAGE
"If an evacuation warning has been issued, please follow the instructions. If you can leave safely, please do so," he said.
"Please follow the instructions from the SES."
Earlier on Tuesday, people in South Ballina were told it was too late to leave as floodwaters hit the northern NSW town.
People in the other parts of Ballina have been ordered to evacuate as unprecedented flooding continues to devastate vast swathes of the NSW north coast.
"If you are under an evacuation order please evacuate immediately unless it is not safe to do so," an SES spokesman said.
"Do not go through dangerous floodwater to get out. Move to higher ground where possible."
The crisis has engulfed the northeastern part of the state, with multiple major flood warnings including the Tweed, Richmond, Wilsons, Brunswick, Bellinger and Clarence rivers.
Thousands of people spent the night in evacuation centres.
Lismore remains submerged after the Wilsons River peaked at 14.4 metres at 3pm on Monday before starting to fall.
Rescuers in a flotilla of dinghies and inflatables plucked stranded Lismore residents from rooftops and balconies of submerged homes.
Disaster assistance is now available in 17 local government areas.
The LGAs are Armidale, Ballina, Bellingen, Byron, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Glen Innes Severn, Hornsby, Kempsey, Kyogle, Lismore, Nambucca, Port Macquarie/Hastings, Richmond, Tenterfield, The Hills and Tweed.
Warnings the weather system is heading south
Although the state government's focus is currently northern NSW, Mr Perrottet said the extreme weather event is moving south and people who live further down the coast should be prepared.
“We know that at the moment this is focused on the north, but very quickly, as we’re seeing in metropolitan Sydney now ... it will move to the south,” he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the weather system which had fuelled the floods was now heading south.
A severe weather warning was issued for coastal areas from the Central Coast to the South Coast, including Sydney.
Wind gusts of up to 125 km/h wind gusts are predicted and the possibility of up to 200mm of rain over six hours from Tuesday night.
The State Emergency Service put out a flood watch for the whole Sydney region, with the worst predicted for areas around the Upper Nepean River.
"People in Sydney and across the South Coast have time. The time to prepare is now," Ms Cooke said.
Things in northern NSW were not going to get better "for a little while", she said.
