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Vulnerable homeowners face a battle to discover food and somewhere dry to sleep when flood waters decline and momentary shelters shut.

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

Kim Kennedy, Vinnies' regional real estate and homelessness supervisor for northeast NSW, has been on the front lines supporting individuals sleeping rough in flooded zones.

Her job was made harder on Monday due to damage to Fred's Place, the Tweed Heads drop-in centre where she is based, with constant rains swamping the area.

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

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

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

She said the homeless were searching for any dry locations they could sleep across a northern NSW region currently handling an alarming lack of affordable housing.

"We have actually been assisting out an entire family sleeping in their cars and truck," Ms Kennedy stated.

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

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

"We definitely do have a housing issue in the Northern Rivers and we require solutions," Ms Kennedy stated.

NSW Premier Chris Minns stated evacuation centres established in schools, universities, health clubs and clubs could not serve as a long-lasting fix to established housing issues in the region.

"I am fully familiar with the significant obstacles for housing in the Northern Rivers, however evacuation centres are not irreversible solutions ... we don't have the resources, the staffing, the time, the allowance," he stated.

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 early morning, while 1800 people were separated by floodwaters.

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

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

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

Residents from 17 NSW local federal government locations who had lost income due to the storm would be qualified 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 psychological health services for impacted locations.

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

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