Illawarra rain threat eases after sleepless night for April's flood victims

Earlier in the day, the Bureau of Meteorology had been looking at the possibility of six-hourly rainfall totals up to 120mm, with the hardest hit areas likely to be Wollongong, Bulli, Port Kembla and Kiama.

But things changed by Sunday afternoon, with the bureau advising that the threat of heavier rainfall rates had eased.

"The immediate threat of severe weather has passed, but the situation will continue to be monitored and further warnings will be issued if necessary," the bureau advised.

Kiama copped the worst of the rain in the 24 hours to Sunday afternoon, with 70mm falling, followed by 41mm in Albion Park and 37mm in Wollongong.

Since midnight on Saturday, the State Emergency Service had responded to 54 calls in the Illawarra and South Coast, which represented more than a third of the calls for help across the state - which sat at 141 over the same time period, an SES spokesperson said.

While the expected severe weather didn't come to pass, some residents who had experienced flooding in the storms last month were on edge.

One of those was Ric Stalenberg of Arrow Avenue in Figtree, which really copped it when the nearby creek burst its banks and sent water racing down the street.

He said residents had made preparations ahead of the predicted weekend weather, such as moving cars to safer locations.

"We were talking about it yesterday and everyone was down in the dumps and sort of, 'here we go again'," Mr Stalenberg said.

"They'd finished cleaning up and there's a couple of families that still haven't moved back into their house. So we were all anxious and stressed out, you know."

He woke up a few times during the night, going out to make sure the drains in the street were clear.

While the worst didn't happen this time, Mr Stalenberg said some Arrow Avenue residents are still dealing with insurance companies after last month's weather.

"The flood insurance is $20,000 so no one can afford it," he said.

"So everyone is having this ongoing battle with the insurance companies saying that it was stormwater because it came down through the suburbs and through the fence on the western side, it didn't come from the creek."

"So everyone's got this battle going on. They've had hydrologists and insurance assessors and everyone's had the same thing - my home included."

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the showers are predicted to ease on Monday with up to 20mm expected, before increasing again on Tuesday.

From there the rain is predicted to continue in the Illawarra throughout the coming week, with a high of 35mm expected on Saturday.