Horticulture has suffered big losses with trees uprooted and erosion problems and dairy famers are battling through long-lasting power cuts.

Thousands remain without power as clean-ups across the region kick into top gear, following the widespread and substantial flooding of the past week.

The Tweed, Byron, Lismore, Ballina, Richmond, Kyogle and Clarence local government areas have been declared natural disasters as the region continues to receive moderate rainfall over the weekend.

Light showers are expected at times today.

Hundreds of residents in Lismore, Grafton and Kempsey, and surrounding districts, have been evacuated, while back roads and major highways throughout the North Coast have been cut, some still under water.

In Goonellabah, a massive road collapase on the busy Oliver Avenue, where the city's council chambers are, caused chaos, with the entire width of the road falling away leaving an 8m deep crater with broken pipes leaking water and sewage.

North and South Lismore were inundated - including the city's saleyards and showground - but the Wilson's River, which flows through the city, was held by levee banks, saving the central business district.

However, following SES warnings on Friday, the city's businesses evacuated.

The Wilson's River peaked at 10.4m late Friday afternoon, about half a metres below bursting point.

Grafton was also lucky with the Clarence River peaking at 7.3m, half a metre lower than earlier predicted.

Most areas have received between 300 and 400mm in the past week, with others, such as Dorrigo on the Mid North Coast, notching up phenomenal figures like 913mm.

Some parts of the region have now been without power since the early hours of Thursday morning.

* Full report in The Land this week.