Vulnerable residents deal with a fight to find food and somewhere dry to sleep when flood waters decline and momentary shelters shut.

Nearly 800 people have actually looked for refuge in NSW evacuation centres but their status as pop-up homes for some will disappear after the impact of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred passes.

Kim Kennedy, Vinnies' regional real estate and homelessness manager 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 damage to Fred's Place, the Tweed Heads drop-in centre where she is based, with continuous rains swamping the area.

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 fixed.

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

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

She stated the homeless were searching for any dry locations they could sleep throughout a northern NSW region currently dealing with a dire shortage of inexpensive housing.

"We have actually been helping out a whole family oversleeping their automobile," Ms Kennedy stated.

"Seeing them in this horrendous weather condition is really dreadful."

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

"We definitely do have a housing problem in the Northern Rivers and we need options," Ms Kennedy said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns stated evacuation centres established in schools, universities, fitness centers and clubs could not act as a long-term repair to entrenched real estate problems in the region.

"I am totally mindful of the significant difficulties for real estate in the Northern Rivers, but evacuation centres are not permanent services ... we do not have the resources, the staffing, the time, the allocation," he stated.

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

"So I wish to apologise in advance however we have to draw a really clear and understood line."

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

About 10,000 homes and services were still not connected to power as heavy rain continued to fall in many locations.

Major flood warnings were still in place for parts of the Clarence and Richmond rivers, while clean-up operations were under method elsewhere.

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

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

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated the financial assistance would be backed by psychological health services for impacted areas.

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

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