State Emergency Service crews have carried out more than a dozen rescues after heavy rain swept across Sydney.
The Bureau of Meteorology said 49mm of rain fell in Marrickville within one hour, and 45mm in Canterbury.
Observatory Hill has had a total of 51mm since 9am, with 35mm falling within an hour.
SES spokeswoman Becky Gollings said volunteers had responded to 13 separate flood rescues around Glebe, Marrickville, Alexandria and Zetland.
Ms Gollings said those people were caught by surprise but were now all safe.
“All of those rescues have involved people caught in their cars in floodwater,” she said.
“It’s concerning for us that people are putting themselves in danger. We just want them to stay out of floodwaters.”
On King St, rain forced the evacuation of the Supreme Court building and dozens of people, including those involved in criminal trials, were ordered to leave.
An alarm was triggered and stormwater could be seen leaking into parts of the historic building, although the building has now reopened to the public.
Roads were inundated while some shops reported at least two inches of water on their floors.
Darlinghurst cafe Posto No 19 said their outdoor tables and chairs floated down the street when flooding was at its peak.
Power has been cut to about 700 customers around Redfern and Surry Hills and traffic lights are blacked out in the inner west.
There were also lengthy delays for motorists and airline passengers.
Motorists are experiencing lengthy delays because the rain has led to flooding on some major city roads.
There is only one westbound lane open on the Anzac Bridge in Sydney’s inner-west.
Motorists were being advised to slow down and exercise caution. Buses across Sydney were also experiencing delays.
A section of the light rail is not operating between Central and Dulwich Hill because of flooding at various spots along the line.
Sydney Airport has confirmed airlines are experiencing delays and warned flights could be cancelled.
