Missing driver swept away as floodwaters strand campers

An elderly man is missing after being swept away in floodwaters as conditions ease following record-breaking rain.

The man was attempting to cross a flooded causeway at Bretti, about 100km west of Taree, in an SUV towing a caravan late on Saturday night after the Barnard River broke its banks.

His car was swept into the floodwaters and neither it or the driver have been found.

A nearby campground was inundated by flooding, stranding about 20 campers who were confirmed safe and did not want to be evacuated.

The floodwaters have started to recede, with the search for the missing driver resuming on Sunday morning.

A raft of flood warnings remain in place on Sunday for vast areas of Queensland and NSW following days of rain.

Parts of the Gold Coast, Hinterland, Brisbane, Capricornia and the Northern Tropical Coast received more than 50mm of rain on Saturday.

The Sunshine Coast copped double that in certain areas.

In NSW, the Illawarra Coast recorded isolated totals of more than 100mm and another 50mm-plus fell over the Northern Slopes and Mid North Coast.

Sydney was spared the worst of the deluge, with 24-hour totals between 5mm to 15mm.

Senior meteorologist Jonathan How said the storm clouds have cleared in most of eastern Queensland and NSW, but flood and wind warnings wouldn’t be withdrawn for now.

“That water will take quite some time to flow through so we are expecting those flood warnings to persist,” the Bureau of Meteorology forecaster said.

Several major NSW roads are still closed due to flooding, including parts of the Silver City Highway from Broken Hill to the Queensland border.

Dozens of outback Queenslanders were flown to safety on Saturday as floodwaters took over their towns and properties.

Central Queensland’s Stonehenge and Windorah have been hit hard after some areas recorded almost double their average yearly rainfall, triggering flooding not seen since 1974.

Personal hardship assistance has been activated, with concessional loans and freight subsidies to help primary producers in a string of western Queensland communities.

Communities in Western Australia are also not out of the woods as ex-tropical cyclone Diane moves inland after crossing the coast on Saturday morning.

Diane has dumped 150mm of rain on the small Kimberley town of Derby and another 60mm has fallen over southern parts of the region.

Heavy rainfall is expected further inland on Sunday as the quick-moving weather system tracks toward the Northern Territory border.

The rain could push down as far south as Alice Springs and Uluru and is expected to completely clear out of WA by late Monday into Tuesday.