Photos: Heavy rains in Australia's east bring worst floods in 50 years

People stand at a washed out section of road at Port Stephens 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of Sydney. People across New South Wales have been warned to expect intense rain and potentially life-threatening flooding, with Sydney predicted to be deluged with up to 200 millimeters of rain in one day.

Heavy rains along Australia's east coast over the weekend have brought the worst flooding in half a century in some areas, authorities said on Sunday, forcing thousands to evacuate and damaging hundreds of houses.

The swollen Parramatta River is seen overflowing as the state of New South Wales experiences heavy rains, in Sydney. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the downpour across the state, Australia's most populous with 8 million people, was worse than initially expected, especially for low-lying areas in Sydney's northwest.

Emergency services ordered people living in low-lying areas on the city's north-western fringes to flee to safety, as authorities warned of a potentially "life-threatening" situation in New South Wales state. Above, people ride their bicycles through a flooded park on the banks of Nepean river in Penrith suburb.

"It is one of the biggest floods we are likely to see for a very long time," Bureau of Meteorology flood operations manager Justin Robinson said. Floodwaters had already risen in several areas, prompting mass evacuations, and officials said another 4,000 people could be told to leave their homes in the coming days.

A State Emergency Service rescue team uses an inflatable raft to bring a local resident to safety from a flooded home as the state of New South Wales experiences widespread flooding and severe weather, in Sydney.

A truck drives through a flooded road at Old Pitt Town north west of Sydney.

Authorities urged residents to heed the "dozens" of official warnings in place across affected areas, with State Emergency Service assistant commissioner Dean Storey saying those in evacuation zones "must leave immediately".

The Bureau of Meteorology said the wild weather was forecast to re-intensify north of Sydney on Monday before easing later in the week. Above, residents look at a swollen river near Warragamba Dam in Sydney.

Conditions were "going to be treacherous yet again," senior climatologist Agata Imielska said. Rainfall records were forecast to continue tumbling in the coming days, she added.

Children play in a flooded park at Port Stephens, 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of Sydney. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for people across New South Wales and to expect intense rain and potentially life-threatening flooding to the Mid North Coast, Hunter, Sydney, Illawarra, and parts of the Central and Southern Tablelands.

Australia is due to begin the first major public phase of vaccine distribution on Monday although the programme has slipped behind the government's announced timetable due to supply and delivery issues.

A boat is loaded back onto its trailer on a flooded road at Old Pitt Town, north west of Sydney.