As it happened: Eugowra locals mourn resident found dead after dangerous floodwaters envelop Central West; two people missing as Lachlan River set to peak

That concludes our live coverage of the flooding in the Central West for today. I will leave you with chief reporter Jordan Baker’s latest report.

The State Emergency Services chief warns NSW faces a summer of floods that will echo the summer of bushfires, as record volumes of water threaten to repeatedly inundate towns.

Commissioner Carlene York said three years of La Nina rain had left the state sodden and vulnerable to floods, just as years of drought created a parched tinderbox before the deadly fires of 2019-20. “We’ll be in floods for months,” York told the Herald.

Read the full story here.

Explore our full coverage of the NSW floods here.

Herald photographer Rhett Wyman was in Eugowra on Thursday.

The town’s Rural Transaction Centre, which offers banking and postal services, was destroyed in the flash flooding on Monday. It was the only option for post after the local post office was sold in 2013.

The town’s newsagency and supermarket suffered a similar fate.

The Bureau of Meterology has issued an updated forecast for the Lachlan River. It expects the major flood peak now passing through Forbes and Cottons Weir to remain into Friday, and above the major flood level through the weekend.

The Lachlan was measured at 10.67 metres at Forbes Iron Bridge on Thursday afternoon and expected to rise and remain at 10.7 metres on Friday, before settling at 10.55m during the weekend.

At Cottons Weir, the river was measured at 7.40 metres, where it is predicted to remain on Friday before falling to 6.60 metres through the weekend.

River levels could still rise downstream of Jemalong Weir, which itself is predicted to peak at about 8.50 metres on Friday morning. Further rises could also occur in Condobolin on Monday; it is currently at 7.40 metres.

As previously mentioned, river levels at Euabalong have already surpassed the infamous 1952 event – but could go even higher in a week’s time when the peak water at Jemalong makes its way down the river.

The Lachlan River at Condobolin was measured at 7.41 metres on Thursday morning – higher than during the infamous 1952 flood often spoken about as a benchmark during this flood event. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted the river could reach as high as 7.60 metres at Condobolin Bridge on Saturday.

The 1952 flood levels have also been surpassed at Cottons Weir and Euabalong.

In Forbes, the major flood peak is expected to remain at about 10.70 metres at Forbes Iron Bridge into the weekend, as locals contend with deep water through their homes and are ferried about town in boats.

Our photographer Alex Ellinghausen is in Forbes and you can see some of his images, as well as aerial shots from the Nine helicopter, below.

Singaporean water rescue crews arrived in Sydney on Thursday and will be deployed to Parkes and Wagga Wagga to aid in coming days.

Fire and Rescue NSW welcomed 18 Singaporean personnel and will facilitate an induction before they head to the Central West.

A strike team, made up of a team leader and four specialist firefighters, also left Sydney for Parkes on Thursday to assist the State Emergency Service-led operation with flood rescues and evacuations.