Major flooding along the Hawkesbury River in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) could displace residents and cause utility outages for months, authorities say. The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) expects Monday to bring the worst flooding event to the area northwest of Sydney since November 1961, nearly 50 years ago. Floodwaters are expected to rise to major levels on Monday morning and inundate places such as Windsor, Pitt Town, North Richmond, Freemans Reach, and Colo. The Hawkesbury River is predicted to reach peaks of up to 15 metres (49 feet) and the State Emergency Service says homes and properties will be flooded, some up to roof height. The floods will cut off evacuation routes and cause lasting outages to utilities, the SES said as it urged residents to prepare to evacuate. “Extensive outages of water, electricity, sewerage, telecommunications, and gas are expected to last many weeks or months,” …