Vulnerable locals face a fight to find food and somewhere dry to sleep when flood waters recede and temporary 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 people sleeping rough in flooded zones.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"We absolutely do have a real estate issue in the Northern Rivers and we need options," Ms Kennedy said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns stated evacuation centres established in schools, universities, gyms and clubs might not serve as a long-term fix to established real estate problems in the area.

"I am completely knowledgeable about the substantial difficulties for real estate in the Northern Rivers, however evacuation centres are not irreversible options ... we don't have the resources, the staffing, the time, the allocation," he stated.

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

"So I wish to apologise beforehand however we need to draw a very clear and understood line."

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

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

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

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

Residents from 17 NSW city government locations 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 said the financial backing would be backed by mental health services for impacted areas.

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

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