UPDATE 10AM JULY 5: The Blue Mountains has been declared a natural disaster area, along with 22 other local government areas in New South Wales.
The declarations were made in a joint statement issued by the NSW SES, the state government and the federal government. It means the Blue Mountains will be able to access disaster assistance from the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
In other developments, the Blue Mountains SES Unit has now attended 98 calls for assistance since Friday.
SES members filled up some of the 300 sand bags for flood preparation at the organisation's Faulconbridge facility on Monday.
The SES team also removed a tree that was blocking Megalong Road Blackheath on Sunday
"We also assisted with the doorknock of over 300 residents in Emu Plains that were under an Evacuation Order on Sunday night," said an SES spokesman.
"We had tasked NSW Police Rescue to assist with three flood rescues where campers and tourists were cut off by flood waters in the Megalong Valley and National Park at Blackheath
"The unit is also deploying volunteers to Wisemans Ferry with the unit's flood boat to assist with resupply of stranded communities today and planning this for the rest of this week."
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JULY 4: Volunteers of the NSW SES Blue Mountains Unit attended to 67 calls for assistance over the weekend as wet weather conditions eased slightly on Monday (July 4).
The Blue Mountains LGA has recorded just over 200mm of rain already this month.
SES volunteers attended to several properties damaged by fallen trees as well as clearing blocked drains. They were assisted by RFS volunteers, Blue Mountains City Council and Police Rescue who attended flood rescue incidents where people were stranded in different locations at Blackheath and Megalong Valley.
Overnight (July 3), evacuation orders were issued for the Emu Plains area and members from NSW SES Blue Mountains Unit attended to co-ordinate the door knock and safe removal of residents. The team was supported by Police and Rural Fire Service, completing the task at 4am.
Rain is expected to be heavy today (Monday, July 4) with at least another 100mm to fall. Rain should ease to showers by Tuesday. SES teams are already on alert to attend to incidents today.
In Blackheath, there is a contra flow in operation on Shipley Road with the road closed into Megalong Valley. Residents only are permitted to enter/leave.
At Bilpin, Bells Line of Road has reopened following an earlier fallen tree near Powells Road.
In neighbouring areas:
Windsor - Windsor Bridge is closed between Wilberforce Road and George Street. Sections of Wilberforce and Pitt Town roads are also closed. North Richmond - Richmond Bridge is closed in both directions. Yarramundi - Yarramundi Bridge is closed in both directions. Wallacia to Glenmore Park - Mulgoa Road is closed in both directions between Park Road/Silverdale Road and Glenmore Parkway
And on public transport, trains are running late due to an issue with a train at Penrith. Buses are available to run between Penrith and Emu Plains. Allow plenty of extra travel time. Stops and departure platforms may change at short notice. For service updates check transport apps, information screens and listen to announcements.
Police are urging people to restrict their travel if non-essential.
The Blue Mountains mayor, Mark Greenhill, posted a message on Facebook last night (Sunday, July 3):
"We are in the middle of yet another natural disaster.
"It has been a day of major storm impact on the city and our council's response and emergency teams have been absolutely brilliant and they are working hard tonight in difficult and very cold and wet conditions.
"My thanks and that of the whole community goes to them all.
"There are greater challenges to come in the next few days.
"Our initial assessment is that this will be worse than the Feb/March 2022 event due to the compounding impact on existing damage. Incoming wind gusts could result in major tree falls that also trigger further landslips with incoming and higher intensity storms."
