Vulnerable locals face a battle to discover food and someplace dry to sleep when flood waters decline and short-lived shelters shut.

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

Kim Kennedy, Vinnies' local real estate and homelessness manager for northeast NSW, has been on the front lines supporting individuals 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 continuous rainfall swamping the space.

On any given 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 community," Ms Kennedy told AAP.

"It has been actually difficult attempting to get them any type of shelter."

She stated the homeless were searching for any dry locations they could sleep across a northern NSW area already dealing with an alarming scarcity of budget friendly housing.

"We have actually been assisting an entire household oversleeping their cars and truck," Ms Kennedy said.

"Seeing them in this horrendous weather is really awful."

The Byron Shire regional government 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 absolutely do have a housing problem in the Northern Rivers and we need services," Ms Kennedy said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns stated evacuation centres set up in schools, universities, health clubs and clubs could not serve as a long-term fix to established housing problems in the area.

"I am totally knowledgeable about the significant obstacles for housing in the Northern Rivers, but evacuation centres are not permanent options ... we do not have the resources, the staffing, the time, the allotment," he stated.

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

"So I wish to apologise in advance but we have to draw an extremely clear and understood line."

More than 10,000 people were under emergency situation warnings in NSW on Monday early morning, while 1800 people were separated by floodwaters.

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

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

In Pottsville, between Tweed Heads and Byron Bay, a whale carcass was among the debris that cleaned up after substantial swells damaged the shoreline for days.

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

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the financial backing would be backed by mental health services for impacted locations.

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

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