Sydney has been thrown into chaos after a devastating storm saw two months worth of rain dumped onto the city. The rain forced mass evacuations, leaving 150,000 homes without power and prompted warnings not to drive to work.

Residents in flood-affected areas from the city’s west to the Northern Beaches have been warned not to drive to work as rivers overflowed.

“We are trying to ask people to reconsider their travel, a number of roads are closed,” a State Emergency Service said on Monday morning, according to The Daily Mail.

“And we are still seeing people driving into flood water.”

NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliot urged motorists to stay off the roads if possible.

“We have 400 SES volunteers trying to complete the backlog this morning and unfortunately this has included 150 flood rescues,” he said.

“The message to the motorists of Sydney and indeed the wider metropolitan area is if you can avoid being on the roads do so.”

Wild winds grew to speeds of 107km/h off the coast of Sydney damaged power lines and uprooted trees that left more than 150,000 homes without power on Sunday night and Monday morning.

Commuters have also been warned to expect major delays on Monday morning as public transport struggles to cope with the influx of extra passengers.

The downpour in Sydney has marked the biggest the area has seen since 1998.

The popular Blue Mountains destination of Katoomba was estimated to receive a quarter of the rainfall over the weekend that it normally receives in one year.

Bureau of Meteorology state manager Jane Golding said that a king tide and 8m high waves are threatening to cause more damage this week.

“Monday and Tuesday will be the main danger period because it is really the height of the waves, the power of the waves coming in from the East which erodes the land,” she said.