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The State Emergency Service (SES) has upgraded their order in the Forbes CBD to “shelter now”, meaning everyone must leave that part of the town.
The peak is predicted to hit Forbes tomorrow morning and floodwaters are not expected to recede until the weekend.
Forbes resident Jess told 9News it was a “big shock”, as the water level had risen higher than she thought it would.
”You just feel a bit empty… but we will be able to fix it up and be able to help out some people who need more help than we do,” she said.
Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles visited the State Emergency Service headquarters in Forbes as defence personnel packed hundreds of thousands of sandbags for the town.
Earlier, a family huddling in the dark on an outdoor table, surrounded by murky water, were among those rescued.
Families were urged to evacuate, but the quickly rising waters trapped many, including a family and their two dogs who were cut off from rescue by boat or car.
Footage of the rescue, among 17 performed by NSW SES last night, showed the 84-year-old, 78-year-old and their adult daughter being winched with their two dogs.
The Lachlan River is currently sitting at 10.7 metres, but Forbes residents are bracing for water levels to the expected peak of 10.8 today as the Wyangala dam continues to spill over.
“The water comes down from Wyangala and we just sit and wait to be washed off the map,” Miller said yesterday.
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“I have spoken to a few personally and it’s tough on them… they had the big driers in (their homes) and they were looking forward to being able to move back in but of course that’s not going to happen again.”
There are currently 25 emergency warnings in place for the Central West region.
It’s believed to be missing Dianne Smith who was last heard from on Monday morning when she called a relative from her car.
A search is continuing for Ljubisa ‘Les’ Vugec, 85, who was last seen at a home in Eugowra on Monday morning.
LifeFlight have been evacuating people to a nearby evacuation centre in Parkes.
The LifeFlight helicopter crew members have rescued 22 people and 16 pets from the central west this week.
The SES rescued another 14 people from a pub last night. 
“They were staying at the Plainsmans Hotel which became inundated by waters,” an SES statement read.
Two people were also rescued from the roof of their submerged vehicle in Condobolin, northeast of Forbes.
There are 25 emergency warnings for the Central West region. 
If the Lachlan River reaches the expected peak today, it will break the previous 1952 record.
