Another man was trying to leave the central western NSW village on Monday morning when a torrent of water picked up his ute and slammed it into a house, where a woman and her children were huddled inside.
He was able to climb through the window and get the family to safety as the water rose.
Many residents have spoken of being pinned against their walls by neck-high water when the Mandagery Creek doubled in height after a heavy downpour on Sunday night.
These are the stories Nationals MP Andrew Gee, the federal member for Calare, has been hearing from residents as he supports clean-up efforts in the village 80 kilometres west of Orange.
Mr Gee said about 90 per cent of homes were damaged by flooding, many filled with mud, and only three houses on the hard-hit eastern side of the creek were spared.
"It's almost a total wipeout. If this had come through at night instead of the morning, it'd be even more horrific," Mr Gee told AAP from Eugowra on Wednesday.
He has been calling for assistance from the Australian Defence Force, comparing the level of devastation to the Northern Rivers floods that decimated Lismore in February.
"We really need them here on the double," Mr Gee said.
"The firies who were working on the ground yesterday said, 'It's just too big for us, we'll be here for weeks and months if it's just the RFS and community doing it'.
"So we certainly need more boots on the ground."
Mr Gee said most residents were uninsured because flood coverage was far too expensive.
"The people evacuated to Orange, a lot of them have absolutely nothing," Mr Gee said.
"It's going to be a long hard slog from here. And we're going to need all the help we can get."
About 40 evacuees are being housed at the Charles Sturt University campus in Orange, with Resilience NSW supplying flood, clothes and essentials.
On Wednesday morning, NSW Police searching for a woman missing in floodwaters found a body at Parkes and Lachlan streets.
The body is yet to be formally identified, but police believe it may be that of resident Dianne Smith.
Ljubisa "Les" Vugec, 85, last seen at his Eugowra home around the same time, is still missing.
Many community members have joined calls for greater support, including from the army, sharing photos of houses ripped from their foundations, upturned cars and displaced roads.
The federal government announced it is providing an extra $9.7 million to fund local disaster co-ordination and mental health services in 135 flood-affected regions across NSW, Victoria and Tasmania.
Regional NSW communities have organised donation hubs, including the Ex-Services' Club in Orange, which is collecting grocery vouchers, new clothing and bedding, baby supplies and bottled water.
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