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A day after the centre of Byron Bay was hit with unexpected flash-flooding at the end of a summer of relentless rain, frustrated business are anxious to reopen their doors.

After the back rooms of Main Street Burger Bar were inundated on Wednesday, co-owner Jack Tupper told AAP he would try to reopen the business on Thursday night.

Rainfall was torrential for days before the flood and Tupper said he had the feeling the town would go under, despite Byron not having a history of inundation.

"This summer, it's just been raining constantly, like constantly," he said.

"And when it does rain, it's so intense.

"It's frustrating because we own the business. It's hard, all the days that we are shut, we're still paying rent.

"All the damage and all the property and stuff, you're never really sure what you covered for.

"We're going to try and seat people because there's not many venues that are going to be open, and there's a lot of people in town," Tupper said.

To the southwest in Lismore, flood levels are continuing to fall after the Wilsons River peaked at 11.4 metres, below the predicted record height of 12 metres.

"That's good news for the community this morning," Flood Recovery Minister Steph Cooke said on Thursday.

"However we are regrouping as we look at recovery efforts as the water starts to recede.

"The weather system is making its way down the east coast, and we will see other communities impacted as it moves south over the next couple of days."

Some 30,000 people in NSW are affected by 20 evacuation orders issued by the NSW State Emergency Service, and 523 people were being housed at 20 evacuation centres still in operation, Ms Cooke said.

"The numbers are much less than what they were in the event of one month ago," she said.

Meanwhile the search continues for missing aged-care nurse Anita Brakel, whose car became trapped in floodwaters in Monaltrie, south of Lismore.

No trace of Ms Brakel or her car has been found since she disappeared on Tuesday about 10pm.

"The rain has eased, but there is a lot of water to move through the rivers, catchments and streams, particularly in the Northern Rivers and also the Mid North Coast," Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Dean Narramore said.

Major flooding continues on the Wilsons, Richmond, Clarence, and Orara rivers, while moderate flooding is continuing on the Hastings, Nambucca and further south along the Macleay, Bellinger and Kalang rivers.

Major flooding is occurring at Coraki, Woodburn and Grafton, while Hastings and Nambucca were experiencing moderate flooding.

A severe wind and damaging surf warning is in place from Kempsey on the Mid North Coast through to the Victorian border.

NSW SES Acting Commissioner Daniel Austin defended the decision by emergency services to lift an evacuation order in Lismore on Tuesday before reinstating it early on Wednesday.

He said the initial evacuation order was for flooding of the Wilsons River at Lismore and the likely overtopping of the flood levee, which did not eventuate.

"As a result, that risk (was) no longer present (and) we decided in consultation with a number of people, including people locally, to remove the evacuation order and allow people to return to get on with the recovery effort," he said.

Commissioner Austin said it took until Wednesday for an exceptional level of new rainfall, not previously predicted, for the levee to overtop.

"We do not have the joy of hindsight," he said.

© AAP 2022

Bruce Willis, the star of the Die Hard franchise and dozens of other action movies, will retire from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, a disease that has hampered his "cognitive abilities," his family says.

Willis, 67, rose to fame in the 1980s comedy-drama TV series Moonlighting, and has appeared in about 100 films across his four-decade career, garnering acclaim for his roles in Pulp Fiction and The Sixth Sense, and winning a Golden Globe Award and two Emmys.

But Willis is perhaps best known for playing the tough-as-nails New York cop who pursued bad guys in the five Die Hard movies, released from 1988 to 2013.

"This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support," his family said in a statement on Wednesday.

Willis and actor Demi Moore were one of Hollywood's most high-profile celebrity couples in the 1990s until their divorce in 2000, but they remained close after the break-up. He is currently married to model and actor Emma Heming and is father to a total of five children with both women.

"We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him," said the statement, which was shared on Instagram by Demi Moore and their daughter Rumer.

Brenda Rapp, a professor of cognitive science at Johns Hopkins University, said aphasia was a disorder most commonly caused by a stroke that could also stem from head trauma or, in rare cases, from neurological disease.

Symptoms varied widely and could affect speech, comprehension and reading ability, Rapp said. In some instances, aphasia can be treated with speech therapy.

Willis had been especially active in recent years. He appeared in eight movies released in 2021 alone, none of which were critically acclaimed.

Larry Gordon, producer of the first Die Hard movie and its 1990 sequel, said he was saddened by the news of Willis' condition, telling the Hollywood Reporter the actor was "the consummate pro and a gutsy guy".

"Grace and guts! Love to you all!," actor Jamie Lee Curtis wrote on Demi Moore's Instagram account.

On social media, his fans shared their feelings of sadness and shock, and many of them paid tribute to Willis.

"His work has meant more to me than I could ever put into words," wrote a fan with the Twitter handle Cody Leach. "If this is in fact the end of your acting career, all I can say is thank you."

Willis has appeared in films grossing more than $US2.5 billion ($A3.3 billion), according to online database IMDB.

© RAW 2022

A showman in life and death, Shane Warne has been remembered as a cricket legend, loveable larrikin and devoted dad at a state memorial in Melbourne.

About 55,000 people flocked to the MCG for Wednesday's service after the spin king's death, at age 52, from a suspected heart attack in Thailand on March 4.

In a touching speech, Keith Warne led tributes and described his son's death as the "darkest day in our family's life".

"Mate, your mother and I can't imagine a life without you. You have been taken too soon and our hearts are broken," he said.

Warne's father spoke of his son's community work after Victoria's devastating and deadly 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, and using his unsuspecting younger brother, Jason, to hone his love for outwitting opponents.

Warne's children - Jackson, Summer and Brooke - unveiled the renamed Great Southern Stand as the Shane Warne Stand after each delivered emotional speeches.

Summer Warne, his youngest daughter, said she and her father shared an impromptu dance to Bryan Adams' Summer of '69 two days before his death, when he came to collect a travel bag.

As well as cherishing the lighter moments, she said her father helped her cope during difficult times.

"You told me that I could either live with these demons or fight with them and come out stronger at the end. You saved me, dad. You truly did," Brooke said.

His wildlife conservation work with the United Nations was also revealed, with the intergovernmental body announcing a set of new grants to be named in Warne's honour.

Musician Elton John followed a minute's silence with a pre-recorded version of Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me.

"It's a sad day today but it's not in some ways because his legacy lives on," the singer said.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin sang a remote rendition of Yellow, while singer Robbie Williams performed a stirring in-studio version of Angels.

Australian actor Hugh Jackman added his voice to the chorus of a virtual tributes, saying Warne made the most of every second in his 52 years.

"Man, he sucked the marrow out of life. There was no one like you, Warnie, and never will be again," he said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese were in attendance, while Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews could not attend after contracting COVID-19.

Others at the MCG, the site of Warne's hat-trick in 1994 and 700th Test wicket in 2006, included former Australian captain Allan Border, ex-English skipper Nasser Hussain and West Indian great Brian Lara.

Friend and former St Kilda footballer Aaron Hamill gave an insight into Warne's larrikin nature, when the cricketer served as his best man and leaned in for a hug just before the nuptials.

"He said 'mate, it's not too late' and, Shane being Shane, he pulled out two passports. He managed to get his hands on my passport as a bit of a gag," Hamill said.

Warne's everyman appeal was on full display outside the ground.

His statue once again became a shrine dotted with Victoria Bitter cans and baked beans - two of his great loves.

One fan, Melburnian Phil Muscat, was sipping a VB in memory of his fallen idol.

"He really made you feel like he was your mate even though you'd never meet him," he told AAP.

Cricket whites and zinc-clad university student Blair Burns, another pilgrim to Warne's statue, said he inspired a generation to bowl leg spin.

"I think back to the backyard as a kid being out there trying to rip it like Warnie. That's what we all wanted to do," he said.

© AAP 2022