'Toughest people in the country': Premier praises community's flood resilience

Chris Minns said the "very serious storm front that's smashed through the coast into parts of the Hunter" had brought weather conditions many in the region would not have seen in their lifetime.

"We're seeing levels of rise in local tributaries, creeks, rivers that we haven't seen since 1920 and many people would have never seen this level of inundation or flooding in their communities," he said.

"We recognise that this is a new thing for many families and many communities. We want to make sure that they're safe during this period.

"To do that, we're going to give the most up-to-date detailed information that we possibly can."

Mr Minns said information would be provided through the Hazards Near Me app, emergency broadcast and local media.

"I you're in the flood zone, if you're in a prepare-to-evacuate zone, if you're in a prepare-to-be-isolated zone, it's really incumbent upon you to listen to emergency services to make sure that you're making decisions in the best interest of your family," he said.

Mr Minns said while there were 2500 emergency service workers deployed, the number of communities isolated and homes inundated "far exceed the amount of boats, the amount of helicopters, the amount of trucks that any government can provide".

However, he said the NSW State Emergency Service had not asked for additional resources from other areas or states.

"When you've got an area as big as we're looking at, particularly for the evacuation zone, 9500 houses, for example, there's not 9500 boats," Mr Minns said.

"It's not possible to coordinate that level of rescue. So, the Commissioner has said that the resources he's happy with. Replacements are coming in to give frontline workers a reprieve and some respite.

"Of course, if any of my emergency service commissioners said that they need more resources, we would give it to them immediately."

Mr Minns also praised the resilience of the communities affected.

"We're talking about some of the toughest people in the state, in the country," the Premier said.

"They're incredibly resilient, very proud people. A lot of the emergency volunteers are from this community and if they're not in the SES, they're in the RFS.

"They may be police officers or firefighters in any event.

"So they're tough, but we're going to need them to be because... after the cameras go, the focus moves onto some other drama in the country, this community will have to get back up on its feet, and we're determined to walk that road with them."