Vulnerable citizens face a battle to discover food and someplace dry to sleep when flood waters recede and short-term shelters shut.

Nearly 800 individuals have actually sought refuge in NSW evacuation centres but their status as pop-up homes for some will stop to exist after the effect of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred passes.

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

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 rainfall inundating the area.

On any provided day, the centre serves about 130 hot meals to those in need but 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 told AAP.

"It has been really difficult trying to get them any type of shelter."

She said the homeless were searching for any dry locations they might sleep across a northern NSW region already handling a dire shortage of budget friendly real estate.

"We have actually been assisting a whole family sleeping in their car," Ms Kennedy said.

"Seeing them in this horrendous weather is actually horrible."

The Byron Shire regional government location, 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 definitely do have a housing problem in the Northern Rivers and we require solutions," Ms Kennedy stated.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said evacuation centres set up in schools, universities, health clubs and clubs might not function as a long-lasting repair to established housing problems in the region.

"I am completely familiar with the significant challenges for real estate in the Northern Rivers, but evacuation centres are not long-term options ... we do not have the resources, the staffing, the time, the allocation," he stated.

The centres would close in all locations once regional emergency orders were lifted, Mr Minns included.

"So I desire to apologise ahead of time but we need to draw an extremely clear and understood line."

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

About 10,000 homes and organizations 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 method in other places.

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

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

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated the financial assistance would be backed by psychological 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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