Sydney weather: Man forced to use JET SKI to get from one outback town to another due to heavy rain

A man has been spotted using a jet ski to travel between two normally parched outback towns as flooding hits large areas of New South Wales.

Video captured on the weekend showed the man using the jet ski in a flooded creek between Broken Hill and Silverton in the state’s far west.  

Onlookers watched and cheered as the man rode the jet ski. 

Typically, people are advised not to drive in flood waters as it could sweep away your vehicle.

Deadly creatures such as snakes can also be hidden in murky flood waters. 

A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for parts of the NSW mid-north coast and northern tablelands with heavy rainfall expected. 

Broken Hill, where the footage was captured, is normally a dry area but has been one of the hardest hit by rainfall.

The footage showed a black four wheel drive towing two jet skis into the flood waters.

However, only one man was brave enough to hop on board and go for a ride on one of the jet skis. 

His friends clapped, cheered and filmed him as they watched on. 

The warning comes after wild weather caused significant damage in the state’s central west on Saturday.

Parkes, in the Central West, received 31mm of rain in just 17 minutes during the Saturday afternoon downpour.

By Sunday morning, the town was drenched with 52mm of rain by the storm that also brought damaging winds and large hailstones.

Part of another roof blew off and residential properties also experienced flooding.

Thunderstorms across much of NSW prompted 45 calls for assistance between 6pm Saturday and 6am Sunday, the State Emergency Service said.

Broken Hill and Parkes have been hardest hit by the extreme weather over the past few days, with Wauchope and Taree on the mid north coast also affected. 

The biggest downpour on Saturday was at Okeh to the north, which copped more than 61mm to 9am Saturday.

The SES has responded to 300 incidents state wide since New Year’s Eve, including four flood rescues.

Near Parkes, a person was trapped in a car in flood water.

A driver and passengers were stranded in their vehicle in Tibooburra, in the state’s west, on New Year’s Eve, while at Wauchope, on the mid north coast, two people had to be rescued from rising waters late on Friday.

Persistent, unpredictable bad weather caused dangerous flash flooding around the mid north coast, closing bridges and roads, Ilana Pender-Rose of the SES told AAP on Sunday morning.

About 1640 residents remain circled by water and cut off in Taree, Harrington and Camden Haven.

Some are expected to be isolated for weeks, ot
hers for only a few days.

There are flood alerts for the Bellinger, Hastings, Paroo and Camden Haven rivers.

The wet weather has been caused by an inland trough with upper level system support, Shuang Wang of the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Monday is expected to be a ‘big day’ across the most eastern part of the state, potentially affecting Sydney and Canberra, Ms Wang said.

‘We’re asking people to get ready because this probably isn’t over,’ Ms Pender-Rose said.

She asked people to be aware of flood risks as they return from holidays around NSW but especially on the mid north coast, where SES volunteers have set up sandbagging stations.

‘Please take it easy, think before you drive anywhere and be aware of the flood risk of wherever you are staying,’ she said.

Sydney is also in for a rainy few days. The forecast has a very high chance of rain until Tuesday, with a good chance of showers beyond that.

Swimmers were warned to avoid Bronte Beach and Narrabeen Lagoon because of pollution caused by rain. Many other swimming sites throughout the city and the Illawarra are also affected.