Flash floods wash away roads, land and stock in Parkes on wettest November day in 17 years

Widespread rain led to dangerous flash flooding across much of Parkes and the state on Sunday night and Monday morning.

Access into Parkes on Monday morning was near impossible when roads across the Parkes Shire, including the Newell Highway both north at Alectown and south, and the Henry Parkes Way to Orange, closed due to flash flooding and high river and creek levels.

While residents in Parkes were dealing with water in their homes and paddocks, there was also devastation further afield, the hardest hit in Eugowra, Molong, Canowindra and Cowra.

The Lachlan River at Forbes was also rising again and residents have since had to evacuate their homes for a second time in two weeks.

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According to the Bureau of Meterology, Parkes saw 80mm fall in under 11 hours from Sunday afternoon to 3.25am Monday, with the heaviest downpours occurring at night.

From 8.21pm 2.4mm of rain fell in two minutes, while 5.6mm fell in 20 minutes from 9.10pm to 9.30pm followed by 13.2mm in 16 minutes from 9.44pm to 10pm.

By 11.30pm 63.6mm had been recorded at the Parkes Airport weather station and the deluge was far from over.

By 1.30am rain gauges reached 78mm and peaked at 80mm at 3.25am.

It was the wettest November day in Parkes in 17 years, with the record standing, and the last time it was anywhere near this wet, at 130mm in 2005.

What added to the impact was that a further 25.8mm had been dumped on the town just 24 hours earlier.

In the township itself some residents have reported they received 90mm at their homes and others more than 100mm.

Tichborne and Alectown, near Gospers Creek, were heavily impacted by flash flooding. One Tichborne resident said they counted 110mm at their farm.

Billabong Creek on the Henry Parkes Way had consumed the bridge near the 80km/h zone, tearing up the road and washing away one side of the land.

The creek crossing on the Eugowra Road too had completely surpassed its four metre water level measurement.

Residents in Billabong Crescent, Kelly Road, Pine Road and Davids Lane, whose homes back onto or face Billabong Creek, said it only took 10 minutes for flood water to fill their homes as much as knee deep.

Parkes has recorded a total 171.6mm of rain so far this month, just 13.2mm short of tripling the month's rainfall average of 61.6mm and 31.8mm off Parkes' wettest November record of 203.4mm in 2005.

Along with October's monthly total this year of 142.4mm, the wettest October it's been since 1976 which holds the current record at 160.2mm, Parkes' yearly total so far stands at 896.4mm.

It means that 2022 has now become the third-straight year Parkes has recorded an annual rainfall total of more than 800mm, which has never happened before.

Rainfall totals for 2020 and 2021 were 870.2mm and 857.2mm respectively.

Since Monday morning, all rural roads in Parkes have been closed until further notice.

A person had to be rescued after becoming trapped in his vehicle in Alectown on Monday morning. He contacted NSW SES for help just before 4am.

NSW Police and RFS personnel located him but were unable to access him. A helicopter had to be deployed to assist with the rescue.

There was also a rescue in Tichborne.

The town of Molong was completely isolated by floodwater on Monday and the entire town of Eugowra was almost underwater with 90 per cent of its residents evacuated to Orange after major flooding along the Mandagery Creek.