Rescues are continuing and more than 1000 buildings have been declared uninhabitable as further help is promised for people devastated by record-breaking floods.
About 3500 people remain isolated along the NSW mid-north coast, despite waters receding in recent days.
Nine flood rescues were conducted in the 24 hours to noon on Wednesday while 20 watch-and-act warnings were in place, Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib told state parliament.
“This flood emergency is not yet over,” he said.
Mr Dib and Premier Chris Minns are expected to return to the flood-hit region on Wednesday afternoon.
It comes as communities impacted by the flooding, which claimed five lives, wait for possible further grants should the disaster response be upgraded.
Category C assistance is only made available when the impact is severe and requires agreement from the prime minister.
The federal funds for severely affected communities and sectors includes clean-up and recovery grants for small businesses and primary producers and the establishment of a community recovery fund.
“Recovery is going to take time,” Federal Emergency Services Minister Kristy McBain told ABC radio.
“This isn’t going to be something that is done quickly and we’ve reiterated that we will be there for the long haul.”
The federal government has pledged a disaster recovery payment up to $1000 for eligible adults and $400 for eligible children, on top of personal hardship payments up to $900 per family.
Up to 13 weeks’ income support will be available and primary producers can access concessional loans and freight subsidies.
The ongoing clean-up, with the help of some 70 army personnel on the ground and thousands of volunteers as well as state agencies, has collected more than 10,000 cubic metres of waste so far.
More than 9200 damage assessments have taken place, with about 2000 to go, Mr Dib told parliament
Many of the more than 1000 buildings deemed uninhabitable may only be so for the short term.
“In some of those cases, it’s just flooding over the floorboards, or minor damage,” he said.
“It doesn’t mean that they’re uninhabitable completely.”
But about 30 homes need “serious work” or are beyond repair.
Volunteers, including concerned locals, are carrying the load of the day-to-day recovery as the areas count the cost of the floods.
One of those was Brett Bennell from Bennell Earthmoving, who offered free excavator and truck services in areas surrounding Coopernook, just north of Taree.
“I’ve moved two truckloads of dead animals, I’ve cleaned out three houses, stuff like that, it’s just shocking,” he told AAP.
“One bloke there didn’t want to show his young fella the dead cows piling up, it’s affecting people bad.”
Houses had been wiped out, with residents desperately clinging to hope valuable items remained usable, he said.
“But it’s a waste of time and they’ve got no money which is why they want to keep things.”
MidCoast Community Flood Response operations head Holly Rankin was helping bridge the gap between such volunteer efforts and government agency responses.
“We’ve created this out of necessity and very rapidly, but through the experience of creating it I’ve realised the paramount importance of strong disaster response frameworks,” she told AAP.
As the clean-up gets into full swing, another person was charged with looting offences on Tuesday.
They are alleged to have stolen tools, paintings, family photos, DVDs, a fish tank, lamps, tyres, and other personal items from a house in Wingham.
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