Joe McGirr voices concerns for North Wagga community as SES prepares for Murrumbidgee River to flood

Some areas of the Riverina received as much as 50 millimetres of rain on Monday, triggering flash flooding conditions in Wagga, Cootamundra, Tumut, Adelong and nearby towns.

Wagga City Council Mayor Dallas Tout said a Telstra outage this morning interfered with flood gauges, contributing to uncertainty around river levels.

"There's not a predicted level height yet [at Wagga], but Gundagai's level is higher than what we've had previously," he said.

"Across the city, we're prepped as much as we can be."

NSW SES deputy incident controller for the southern region Shane Hargrave said the rain resulted in more than 300 calls for assistance from community members and more than 25 flood rescues on Monday night.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, he said a "considerable" number of vehicles became trapped by flood waters.

"There were about 13 jobs where we had vehicles through flood water," he said.

"There were quite a number of people who were stuck on the roof of their vehicles."

Residents at Wattle Grove Retirement Village in Cootamundra were evacuated by boat.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The Bureau of Meteorology predicted the Murrumbidgee River at Gundagai to rise to 9.4 metres on Tuesday, with low-lying areas expected to be affected by flooding.

The Bureau predicts Wagga will reach the moderate flood level of 9 metres on Thursday.

Member for Wagga Dr Joe McGirr said he was "concerned" for North Wagga residents as the peak travels downstream.

"The residents of North Wagga will need to prepare as they have twice already, and I suspect they may have to prepare again to get themselves ready and be alert for what might happen," he said.

"We are in the midst of a difficult season no question about that, so I ask people to be very vigilant."

The Local Emergency Management Committee met at 3pm on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the flooding situation.

Mr Hargrave said the SES was assessing the flooding effects in Wagga and downstream, but were waiting to record the river peaks at Gundagai and Eringorarah for modelling accuracy.

"Once we see those peaks, we've got a better understanding of what's going on in regards to time frame," he said.

"We've had a lot of rainfall in the past so the catchment area will be reacting differently."

Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience Steph Cooke said there were 600 SES personnel on the ground across the Riverina, supported by the Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW, the Volunteer Rescue Association and other volunteer and government agencies.

She said services were undergoing damage assessments in Cootamundra after "a long night", where up to 400 houses were evacuated last night.

"We are working very hard to get people back into their homes as quickly as possible," she said.

"We continue to see thunderstorms roll through and we can continue to see this occur over the coming weeks ahead."

Mr Hargrave said an extra helicopter had been deployed to Wagga and the SES night coverage from Deniliquin was also here to assist overnight.

"We're using every resource at our disposal to assist the community," he said.

"If you were impacted [by previous flooding events] please prepare now and if you need assistance, please call 132 500."

SES advised Wagga residents to continue to monitor conditions, with Gumly Gumly Island, Burilda and Fuller Streets, Hampton Avenue between North Wagga and Cartwrights Hill, and farmland expected to be impacted by flooding.

Some roads and low level bridges are also expected to become submerged, SES warns.

Cr Tout asked everyone to continue to monitor conditions, and to never enter floodwater.

"Please drive to conditions, do not drive through floodwaters and be aware of conditions," he said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: