Vulnerable citizens deal with a fight to find food and somewhere dry to sleep when flood waters decline and short-lived shelters shut.

Nearly 800 people have sought sanctuary in NSW evacuation centres but their status as for some will stop to exist after the effect of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred passes.

Kim Kennedy, Vinnies' local real estate and homelessness supervisor for northeast NSW, has actually been on the cutting edge supporting people sleeping rough in flooded zones.

Her task was made harder on Monday due to harm to Fred's Place, the Tweed Heads drop-in centre where she is based, with constant rainfall inundating the space.

On any offered day, the centre serves about 130 hot meals to those in need however showers and laundry facilities are out of commission until the flood damage is repaired.

"It has been a horrendous time for the homeless neighborhood," Ms Kennedy told AAP.

"It has actually been truly tough trying to get them any kind of shelter."

She stated the homeless were searching for any dry places they could sleep across a northern NSW area currently handling a dire shortage of economical real estate.

"We've been assisting an entire family sleeping in their cars and truck," Ms Kennedy stated.

"Seeing them in this horrendous weather condition is actually awful."

The Byron Shire city government area, south of Tweed Heads, had the most rough sleepers of any council location in the state, according to a 2024 federal government street count.

"We absolutely do have a housing problem in the Northern Rivers and we require services," Ms Kennedy said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said evacuation centres established in schools, universities, fitness centers and clubs could not function as a long-lasting fix to entrenched housing problems in the area.

"I am completely knowledgeable about the significant difficulties for real estate in the Northern Rivers, but evacuation centres are not irreversible options ... we don't have the resources, the staffing, the time, the allocation," he said.

The centres would close in all areas once local emergency orders were raised, Mr Minns added.

"So I want to apologise ahead of time but we need to draw a really clear and understood line."

More than 10,000 people were under emergency cautions in NSW on Monday early morning, while 1800 individuals were isolated by floodwaters.

About 10,000 homes and businesses were still not linked to power as heavy rain continued to fall in numerous areas.

Major flood cautions were still in location for parts of the Clarence and Richmond rivers, while clean-up operations were under way in other places.

In Pottsville, in between Tweed Heads and Byron Bay, a whale carcass was amongst the debris that washed up after huge swells battered the shoreline for days.

Residents from 17 NSW local government locations who had lost earnings due to the storm would be eligible for federal catastrophe relief funds for approximately 13 weeks, it was revealed on Monday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated the monetary support would be backed by mental health services for affected locations.

"We've got your back, that's my message to communities here," he stated from Lismore on Monday.

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