NSW, Queensland floods as it happened: Thousands of Sydney residents asked to evacuate as Hawkesbury River waters rise; Brisbane, Lismore and Ballina SES rescues continue

That's all we've got for today, thanks for reading our live coverage. Here's a summary of the major headlines:

• Tens of thousands of Sydneysiders have been ordered or warned to evacuate because of rising floodwaters in swollen rivers. And that's before the "rain bomb" from the east coast low properly hits – that's due between 2am and 11am tomorrow. The Hawkesbury, Nepean and Georges Rivers are all either at or approaching major flood levels as the sodden ground can't absorb any more moisture. Residents who suffered through last year's floods have been told to "get out now" in anticipation of worsening conditions.
• The NSW government is using this flooding in Sydney to argue in favour of raising the Warragamba Dam wall – a controversial $1.6 billion project that has huge environmental opposition. Since it began spilling today, the dam has discharged 600 gigalitres of water, more than the 460 gigalitres during last March's mega-floods.
• In the Northern Rivers region, tens of thousands of people remain homeless and there's a critical shortage of food, water and fuel. As floodwaters slowly recede and the full toll of the disaster is revealed, people are returning to pick up the pieces. Four people have died and authorities fear that number will rise. Many people in Lismore, Ballina and smaller towns beyond that remain without drinking water and sewage services, and there are widespread outages of payment systems. Helicopter drops and SES flood boats ferrying supplies have been stepped up to meet the growing unmet demand for essential items.
• In Queensland, where people are mopping up after catastrophic flooding earlier this week, storm bands causing large hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall are forecast to hit the south-east on Thursday, threatening already devastated towns and potentially delaying the clean-up.
• And on a positive note, here are some of the ways you can help flood-affected communities in NSW and Queensland.

If you're a night owl, you can keep an eye on the weather radar as the heavy rain approaches. For the rest of you, goodnight. Stay safe everyone.

In the disaster-ravaged east coast, the smiling faces of Sikh Volunteers Australia have showed up to deliver food to the needy.

Members of the Melbourne-based non-profit organisation travelled almost 35 hours on Wednesday to reach flood-ravaged Lismore, in northern NSW.

Check out their story below:

The South Coast SES is warning that major storm damage is expected along with minor flooding when the east coast low hits the region tomorrow morning.

Adam Carney, Shoalhaven local commander said Sussex Inlet is a key area of concern with a minor to moderate flood warning current for the St George’s Basin area.

The Shoalhaven River is also a focus point, particularly with the high tide at 10.40am tomorrow. It is also currently at minor to moderate flood warning, with minor flooding expected at Nowra and Terara tomorrow and further rises possible as rainfall continues.

Earlier today, Shoalhaven Heads was mechanically opened to the ocean to prepare for the incoming deluge. Local state MP Gareth Ward urged residents to stay off the road if they didn’t need to be out: “we’re going to see more water than we’ve ever seen,” he said.

Here's the full list of areas under SES evacuation orders and warnings.

It includes the areas in Sydney's Hawkesbury region that were affected by floods last March, as detailed at the press conference earlier.