Vulnerable homeowners deal with a battle to find food and somewhere dry to sleep when flood waters recede and momentary shelters shut.

Nearly 800 people have looked for haven in NSW evacuation centres however 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 been on the front lines 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 consistent rains flooding the space.

On any provided day, the centre serves about 130 hot meals to those in need but showers and laundry centers are out of commission up until the flood damage is .

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

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

She stated the homeless were searching for any dry places they could sleep throughout a northern NSW area already dealing with a dire scarcity of inexpensive real estate.

"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 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 issue in the Northern Rivers and we need services," Ms Kennedy said.

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

"I am completely conscious of the considerable difficulties for real estate in the Northern Rivers, however evacuation centres are not permanent solutions ... we do not have the resources, the staffing, the time, the allocation," he stated.

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

"So I want to apologise beforehand however we have to draw an extremely 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 companies were still not connected to power as heavy rain continued to fall in lots of areas.

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

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

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

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

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

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