Areas of Lismore are already flooded, with rising water inching closer to breaching the city’s levee as the SES calls Saturday “D-Day” for the state.
Areas from the Tweed on the far north coast, inland at Lismore, and as far south as Port Macquarie are subject to the orders as Cyclone Alfred edges closer.
Evacuation centres have been set up, flights cancelled and schools closed as the category 2 storm moves towards land.
The oncoming cyclone sparked panic buying on both sides of the border, while surfers made the most of the storm swell at popular beaches on the Gold Coast and at Byron Bay.
The weather bureau is forecasting a hot autumn across most of Australia, after an unusually hot summer marked by natural disasters.
Sydneysiders can expect to see a lot more spiders, including deadly funnel-webs, as weather becomes perfect for arachnids.
The storm left Sydney’s public transport on its knees and roads inundated as more than 85 millimetres of rain fell in some parts of the city.
Rosanna Hashem, who owned a popular Sydney cat grooming business, died a day before her 44th birthday.
Sydney’s punishing heatwave gave way to rain and storms as the predicted cool change rolled into the city, slashing temperatures.
The heatwave is bringing oppressive temperatures, extreme UV levels, the risk of power outages and a severe storm.