In its latest update the NSW State Emergency Service confirmed its volunteers had conducted more than 406 flood rescues and responded to 2220 requests for assistance.

NSW SES Commissioner Mark Smethurst described the past 24 hours as "hectic," singling out Lismore as the worst hit.

"Lismore is still quite inundated. Most of the flood rescues were of people trapped in their own buildings who did not heed the warnings when they were told to evacuate," he said.

"It's been a real problem up here and certainly a concern of all the emergency services."

Mr Smethurst confirmed that water heights at Murwillumbah had dropped two to three metres in some areas.

"It looks like we will have reached all the peaks by 1pm this afternoon. The worst is certainly over...we expect by Monday we will be into recovery mode."

Residents in Lismore have had the first glimpse of the destruction caused to their homes, with flood levels now having dropped by almost five feet in some areas.

Binti Jones accompanied her son Mathew, 8, and daughter Maleah in kayaks to their family home in Bright Street which, two nights earlier, they had been forced to evacuate.

"It's a bit of a journey into the unknown," she said. "This will be the first time inside so finger's crossed."

Further up the same street, Laurie and Tracey Batshaw were wading through the ground floor of their house, still coming to terms with what had unfolded.

"I can't get over how quickly it came up," said Mr Batshaw.

"We've lost lounges, furniture and other stuff," said his wife while surveying the damage. "I collect dolls," she added. "They are going to require some washing and a bit of care."

Evacuation orders and advice remain in place across the Richmond Tweed region, including Ocean Shores, Billinudgel, New Brighton and Kyogle.

About 9.30am on Saturday a new evacuation order was issued for Cabbage Tree Island, downstream from the Richmond and Wilsons Rivers.

Major flooding of the Richmond River at Woodburn is expected to peak near 4.2 metres about 1pm.

Resident Phillip Roberts was again watching catchment overflow from the Wilsons River creep ominously up the side of his car and through parts of his home on Saturday.

It was only on Thursday night that Mr Roberts witnessed the same at his home at Wyrallah.

"We got told 'this is a 100-year flood, you need to go'. But we had nowhere to go. So we stayed it out," said.

"We watched masses of landslide drift down the river behind the house. A live horse floated straight past us but there was nothing we could do. In seconds it had been and gone. The water flow was that rapid."

On Friday it was confirmed that there had been two deaths in the NSW floodwaters in NSW.

Police said a woman's body had been found on a flooded property about 20 kilometres south of Murwillumbah, after disappearing in overnight floodwaters from the rural property.

A second woman's body was found in a car on Friday afternoon, after she was swept away while driving over a causeway in the Hunter Valley on Thursday night.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian thanked emergency services for their efforts, adding that it was "a cause of concern that too many people did not follow instructions" to evacuate.

"Our systems are better than they've ever been, in terms of notifying more people," she said.

"The extent of the seriousness of the flood was not anticipated because the forecast underestimated how much rain would be received in a very short amount of time...which is why so many people have been impacted."

Residents in flood affected areas are reminded not to enter flood waters until they have subsided.

"There are carcasses from livestock, sewage in the water, it's not safe...quite frankly we are better to let levels drop to a safe amount before we get the professionals in," said Mr Smethurst.

"It's going to be a messy job."