Major flooding near Coffs Harbour along the NSW Mid-North Coast has caused people to scramble to salvage their homes, and has also resulted in a freight train derailing.

A 1.5km-long freight train carrying “dangerous goods” derailed in rural NSW just after 2.15am Thursday morning.

Emergency services were called to Morrows Road, Nana Glen, on the state’s Mid North Coast

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More than 60 firefighters went to the scene.

More than 300 millimeters of rain hit the area in 24 hours, leading to major flooding.

Half of the train’s carriages had derailed, with one of the locomotives in a paddock and the other two remaining upright.

One of the locomotives leaked up to 8000L of diesel and 16 carriages jack-knifed, four of them ending up in floodwater.

A small fire ignited following the crash but was extinguished by the train driver.

Fortunately its other cargo of dangerous chemicals remained intact and upright.

Specialist crews from Sydney and Newcastle were deployed to the incident.

The train driver was safely removed from the train and assessed by NSW Ambulance.

NSW Police and the NSW Environmental Protection Agency are also in attendance.

By Chelsea Caffery / Royal Family

By Frances Sheen / NSW News

By Chelsea Caffery / Royal Family

By Frances Sheen / NSW News