Staff shortages will prevent Albury emergency service volunteers heading to help with the latest floods

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in the wider Sydney and Hunter Valley region, with major flood warnings in place for the Neapean, Hawkesbury and Colo Rivers.

That follows rainfall totals in some locations of between 130 millimetres and 160 millimetres, creating NSW's fourth flooding event in 18 months, with Sydney predicted yesterday to be facing another 100 millimetres.

Albury SES unit commander Curtis Kishere said he didn't have volunteers available simply due to the staff shortages at their day-to-day jobs.

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He said although the demand was high in NSW for emergency workers to assist in the flood-affected areas, the time couldn't be spared at the moment. "If I had the staff ready to go, I would definitely send them up," he said.

Employers across the region are in a staff shortage crisis, and Mr Kishere was worried about taking those days from volunteers who still needed to pursue their regular paid work.

"The pandemic is still hurting us all, and we just can't spare that extra five days to go up there. It's just too much and too far away."

However, he said the station was focusing on getting the region flood ready by keeping an eye on levels in the Murray River through Albury and downstream.

"We need to do our own jobs here and are already looking at preparing ourselves for any flooding that may occur down here, too," he said.

One SES volunteer in Lavington was on standby but couldn't go, but "if she could have been there, she would have right away".

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