Unrelenting rain over the weekend saw roads and bridges swallowed up and floodwaters rushing through houses.

On Monday New South Wales leader Gladys Berejiklian warned that more heavy downpours are on the way.

“So far the SES has been called out at least 8,000 times. There are around 15,000 people who have been evacuated from the mid-north coast from their homes. In the Nepean Richmond Valley region, the Hawkesbury region there have been about 3,000 evacuations to date. Nineteen evacuation orders have been issued and potentially more to come.

Sydney on Sunday recorded the wettest day of the year with more than four inches of rain while some parts of the north coast recorded nearly three feet of rainfall in the last six days.

“And I just want to say to everybody across the state who is currently living in fear and anxiety that all of us are thinking of you. Some communities that were battered by the bushfires are now being battered by the floods and deep drought prior to that… I know for many people, they will feel like it is a breaking point. When you have been through three or four incidents which are life changing on top of each other, it can make you feel like you are at breaking point. Please know that we are thinking of you and we’re getting support as much as we can.”

The state’s emergency services say flooding is likely to top record levels set in the 1960s.

And authorities expect the wild weather to continue until Wednesday.