Vulnerable locals face a fight to find food and someplace dry to sleep when flood waters recede and short-lived shelters shut.

Nearly 800 individuals have sought refuge in NSW evacuation centres however their status as pop-up homes for some will disappear after the effect 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 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 consistent rains inundating the space.

On any given day, the centre serves about 130 hot meals to those in requirement but showers and laundry facilities run out 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 really tough trying to get them any type of shelter."

She said the homeless were looking for any dry places they could sleep throughout a northern NSW region currently dealing with an alarming lack of budget friendly real estate.

"We have actually been assisting out an entire family sleeping in their car," Ms Kennedy said.

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

The Byron Shire local federal 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 solutions," Ms Kennedy said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said evacuation centres set up in schools, universities, health clubs and clubs might not work as a long-term fix to entrenched real estate problems in the area.

"I am completely knowledgeable about the substantial challenges 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 allowance," he said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636