KEY POINTS
- There were more than 1,700 calls for help after wild weather battered NSW and Victoria.
- SES crews have asked NSW far south coast residents to stay vigilant for the possibility of more rain and flooding.
- In Victoria, there is a severe weather warning in place for some of the south coast district.
Australia's southeast is bracing for more wet weather after 24 hours of heavy rain sparked more than 1,700 calls for help to state emergency services.
NSW's far south coast bore the brunt of the wild conditions on Wednesday and overnight, with crews asking residents to stay vigilant for the possibility of more heavy rain and flooding.
On Thursday, rapid impact assessment teams were focusing on homes in Lake Conjola, a small town on the NSW south coast.
The State Emergency Service estimated about 40 homes had been impacted by floodwaters across the region.
"Crews are still on the ground ready to respond to calls for assistance in the southeast, but the clean-up has started in some areas," an SES spokeswoman told the Australian Associated Press.
The SES responded to 1,056 incidents across NSW. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins
A gale warning is in place for the Eden coast while the Illawarra and Batemans coasts are warned about strong winds.
A watch and act warning remains in place for Lake Conjola and the Bega River and people are urged not to enter floodwaters.
As of 5am on Thursday, the SES had responded to 1,056 incidents across the state, with more than 500 in the southeastern zone.
Operations manager Dallas Burnes said almost 1,200 personnel had been deployed to assist communities.
"There is still a severe weather warning in place for some of the south coast district with further rain and damaging winds today but we do expect it to gradually ease through the course of the day," he told Seven's Sunrise.
Most calls for help in Victoria were from suburbs in Melbourne's outer east for trees down over roads. Source: AAP / Diego Fedele
In Victoria, the SES received 661 calls for help in the 24 hours to 7am on Thursday.
Most were from suburbs in Melbourne's outer east for trees down over roads, building damage and some flood-related incidents.
The emergency response is now focused on the Gippsland region in the state's east, with a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall and damaging winds issued for parts of the region.
Three separate watch and act alerts were current as of Thursday morning.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecast possible rainfall of 80 to 150mm in the east, with up to 200mm locally over parts of East Gippsland.
Damaging wind gusts of around 90km/h are also possible.
Victoria SES chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch said he could not emphasise enough the importance of never driving through floodwaters.
"We are particularly asking residents in Gippsland to make sure they stay tuned to their emergency broadcasters," he said.
