A man has died in floodwaters southwest of Sydney, as thousands of people are told to evacuate or prepare to do so after days of torrential rain.
The 68-year-old man was found in a submerged van at Cobbity before 8am on Friday.
His body was retrieved about 1pm following an operation by police divers and the SES but he is yet to be formally identified.
More than 150 NSW schools have been closed after a torrential downpour prompted evacuations in Sydney's south and southwest.
Evacuation orders were issued on Friday for people in Cornwallis and the eastern part of Richmond lowlands as well as low-lying parts of Cattai, Pitt Town, Pitt Town Bottoms and Agnes Banks.
Residents in Camden and Chipping Norton in Sydney's southwest and Woronora, Bonnet Bay and Gronos Point were earlier ordered to evacuate as floodwaters began to rise on Thursday.
People are also warned to prepare for evacuation in parts of Ebenezer, Emu Plains, Mulgoa, Sackville North, Pitt Town Bottoms, Camden, Elderslie, Wallacia Weir, North Richmond, Agnes Banks, Leets Vale, Bligh Park, South Windsor and Freemans Reach, where rising floodwaters could leave people trapped with no water or power.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said close to 2,400 people were subject to evacuation orders on Friday morning, with more than 17,000 in the warning areas.
"Despite the substantial flooding that we've seen across our state, what is incredibly pleasing has been that we've only lost a very few amount of lives, and that has occurred because of the efforts that everyone has made across our state in following the instructions of the SES," Mr Perrottet said, before the news that a man's body had been discovered.
Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said the state was experiencing flood fatigue but people needed to keep following the advice of emergency services.
"It will stop raining, it will get better," Ms Cooke said.
"We just need to keep (getting) through this one day at a time."
The Bureau of Meteorology's (BOM) Jane Golding said the rain would ease somewhat on Friday after downpours on Thursday.
"We do have flood warnings current though, so although the rain is easing ... we do have major flood warnings for some sites," she said.
"The rivers will be moving quickly (and) there's a lot of debris flowing around."
The State Emergency Service (SES) received close to 1,200 requests for assistance and conducted 35 rescues in the past 24 hours.
"Across a population base the size that we had under warning areas, 35 is actually quite a low number and we are really grateful for the community for listening," NSW SES acting commissioner Daniel Austin said.
More than 1,200 SES volunteers have been on the ground as catchments react quickly to heavy rain causing flash flooding.
The NSW education department has listed 155 schools, predominantly around Greater Sydney, the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions that are not operating due to adverse weather conditions as of Friday morning.
Major flood warnings are in place for rivers in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley and the NSW Central and South Coast.
Water is also spilling over Warragamba Dam, which was at capacity when the downpour started.
A major flood peak above levels seen during the April 1988 floods passed through Menangle on Thursday afternoon.
Wallacia is expected to experience flooding at levels higher than last month when the Upper Nepean River peaks on Friday morning.
There is also major flooding at North Richmond on the Hawkesbury River, although the BOM believes the rises will not be as severe as last month's flooding.
Queensland flood victims face funding means test
Flood-affected Queenslanders must pass a means test before qualifying for assistance from .
The multimillion-dollar package aims to give residents options to either refit or sell their damaged homes, with funding to be evenly split with the Commonwealth.
Federal funding was only approved this week after Prime Minister Scott Morrison initially refused, insisting the state was primarily responsible for housing.
While finally agreeing to jointly fund the package, the prime minister foreshadowed caveats which have been revealed to include a means test
Acting Premier Cameron Dick confirmed a means test would be applied, warning not everyone could be compensated.
"The Prime Minister asked for a means test to be applied," Mr Dick said on Friday.
"We've agreed with that and that's part of the guidelines that we will be developing — that's just the reality.
"These are very significant events. And it's not possible to compensate everyone for every loss that they have sustained."
Queensland Treasurer and Acting Premier Cameron Dick. Source: AAP / Jono Searle
"Queenslanders just want these issues to be addressed and for funding to continue to support residents and businesses in need," the Mr Morrison said.
"I know many people are still doing it tough and I want to ensure the only focus of my government is to support their needs."
About 7800 homes were damaged during the recent Queensland floods, 4,000 of which are uninhabitable, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority said.
The package was intended to focus on the "longer-term need to increase resilience" amid the ongoing threat of natural catastrophes.
It includes $275 million to retrofit 5,500 homes, $100 million to elevate 1,000 homes and a $350 million residential buyback program.
It also includes an increase in structural assistance grants from just under $15,000 to $50,000, and another $30 million to assist local governments.
