Three people have died in flooding in Australia's east with the threat to hang over communities for some time despite forecasts heavy rain will ease.
Days of intense rain have caused widespread flooding, isolating communities, washing away livestock and posing a mammoth clean-up effort for NSW's mid-north coast.
Grave fears remain for other people missing after the deaths of two men and a 60-year-old woman missing in Dorrigo whose body was recovered on Thursday.
Premier Chris Minns said the priority was saving lives and then helping people isolated in difficult circumstances.
Resupplying isolated properties would come next.
Mr Minns encouraged communities to brace for "the grim reality" there may be more tragic news.
Almost 50,000 people have been isolated by flooding across the region.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would visit the flood-hit communities soon.
“It is a terrible situation,” he told ABC radio.
“You don’t want to get in the way of rescues as well … many of the areas that have been worst affected simply can’t be reached at this point in time.”
Police earlier discovered a body in floodwater at Rosewood, west of Port Macquarie.
It is believed to be that of a missing man, aged in his 30s, who became stuck while driving in floodwaters on Wednesday night.
A 63-year-old's body was found on a flooded home's verandah at Moto on Wednesday.
Acting NSW Police Commissioner Peter Thurtell confirmed the SES had been in contact with the man before he died.
His daughter said he had been found in ankle-deep water after directing an SES crew upstream to another family before most likely having a medical incident, the ABC reported.
A 49-year-old man in Nymboida is believed to have walked into floodwaters and remains missing.
Officials have again urged people to avoid flood waters and evacuate areas early, if safe.
A slow-moving trough is forecast to shift south, giving affected areas a reprieve.
"That does not mean the flood risk for this area is abating,” the Bureau of Meteorology’s Steve Bernasconi warned.
The Southern Hunter, Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands regions are next in line for heavy falls.
More than 2500 personnel - 2200 from the SES alone - have responded to more than 4600 incidents since the weather event began on Sunday, assisted by nine helicopters and 500 boats.
About a third of the 591 flood rescues were due to people driving into flood waters, the premier said.
Kempsey mayor Kinne Ring said emergency services, council resources and food was running thin as the Macleay River rose.
“I'm at the emergency evacuation centre which has got about 47 people in it,” she told AAP.
“It’s very unsettled, you can just hear the relentless rain on the tin roof and the only grocery access for West Kempsey is the little IGA."
The mid-north coast and Hunter regions have been the worst impacted by the floods.
Close to 150 warnings are in place, with local residents in the path of flooding urged to head to higher ground and evacuate if they can.
Evacuation centres have been set up in 15 locations.
Joint commonwealth-state support has been expanded to 19 local government areas.
Farmer Emily Neilson said it would take weeks for things to dry out.
"So even once the rain stops and the sun comes out, the situation won't change," she said.
