Residents are getting on with life amid the necessary jobs of repairs to homes and property and replacement of destroyed possessions.

Flood debris remains in bushland and parkland, and cars whip up dust.

Carla McKern, who has called the North Shore home for more than 40 years, said residents lost possessions and memories on top of the damage incurred.

The McKerns raised their downstairs possessions in a bid to avoid damage but the water was too high.

"We had tens of thousands of dollars of tools and equipment downstairs which we thought we had made safe and it just went under," Mrs McKern said.

The house just had some doors replaced, the stairs still need fixing and a few other things need attention as the repair process continues.

She said their upstairs living space escaped the floodwater and others had lost so much more.

"It's heartbreaking and quite shocking what other people have lost," Mrs McKern said.

She said the worst part was the mud, the stench and being without power and water in the flood aftermath.

Community members pitched in to help each other when the North Shore was isolated by floodwater.

Residents helped with rescues, ferrying people and supplies across the river, welfare checks and much more.

Neighbours, armed with high-pressure washers, brooms and shovels, helped remove the mud from the downstairs area of the McKern family's home.

"For them to help us was just incredible," Mrs McKern said.

The family then returned the favour by helping others remove mud from their properties.

The North Shore also welcomed a range of agencies in the flood clean-up phase.

Residents were shocked at how fast and high the floodwater rose.

"We were really let down very badly by the fact nobody seemed to be aware how high this was going to come," Mrs McKern said.

"Nobody warned us at all how bad it was going to be."

Mrs McKern said they had since adopted the motto "there is no such thing as a minor flood".

"Every flood has the potential to be a catastrophe."

Mrs McKern said life was slowly returning to normal but the North Shore still needed a lot of help.

"On the North Shore, people just get on with it and we do the best we can to help each other and ourselves," she said.

Northside Progress Association president Kingsley Searle said it would be a long flood recovery process.

"It will be a long time before we get to the stage where we don't think about it [the flood]," he said.

"Our lives are still disrupted."

Waste management and water solutions company SUEZ recently filled potholes at the Coal Wharf with soil its truck swept from the streets of the North Shore.

The SES is staging a series of flood forums on the Mid-North Coast.

There will be a forum at the North Shore Rural Fire Station from 7pm on Tuesday [May 11].

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