The first temporary homes are being set up for Westport residents displaced by severe flooding.

Westport homeowner Pauline Williamson owns one of 70 homes given a red sticker after the Buller River reached a record 12.8 metres almost three weeks ago. Some 393 homes were also given yellow stickers after being inundated with water from the Buller and Orowaiti rivers.

Williamson received the first two-bedroom Government-issued portable cabin to arrive in Westport. It was set up on her property on Wednesday. She hoped to move into it on Friday once power and water were hooked up.

She had lived in a portable cabin before when her house got flooded three years ago during ex-cyclone Fehi.

READ MORE: * Temporary Accommodation Service activated for Southland flooding * Accommodation crunch sees emergency grants double to $33.1m in two years * Thirty-five West Coast homes still uninhabitable three months after Cyclone Fehi

“We are back again. We were at a motel for three months and six months in a cabin last time. We are good this time ... I knew what to do and put my name in straight away,” she said.

The sea surge during ex-cyclone Fehi sent floodwaters about 50 centimetres high into her home – this time it was about 1m.

“I put stuff up on our kitchen table, and it got wet. The water got into the top drawer of our kitchen bench,” she said.

She expected repairs to take some time, with tradespeople having to come from out of town to help.

A state of emergency in Buller was extended for another week last Friday as Westport prepared to move into recovery mode following the floods on July 17 and 18.

Buller mayor Jamie Cleine said 15 cabins had arrived in Westport from the Government’s Temporary Accommodation Service. He understood that was the total number of cabins available nationwide.

They would be given to those most in need and connected with power and amenities either on people’s own sections or possibly on council land if necessary.

He acknowledged it fell far short of the 224 properties that were under repair and needed to be replaced with temporary accommodation.

He understood more substantial units were being built and could be put in a temporary village being mooted for the town.

It would take a couple of months to set up and could include accommodation for tradespeople working on repairs.

Cleine said the state of emergency would remain until 1.15pm on Friday.

The district would then enter a 28-day state of recovery, which could be renewed every 28 days. It allowed the district to access Government support.

“I expect that we will be in recovery for 12 months,” he said.

The community hub would remain open for the next 12 months, but would move into another premises and would include 20 representatives from various social support organisations and Ngāti Waewae.

He said 1400 tonnes of waste was being sorted and a contract for removal to landfill in Nelson or Westland would go out to tender.

Temporary Accommodation Service adviser Casey Hamilton Harrison said the service was working to bring more portable cabins to Westport “promptly”.

A combination of housing options would be used to suit the needs of different households, including the possibility of a temporary village.

“[The service] places importance on keeping people within their community; the team takes into account people’s individual needs, where their schools and workplaces are, as well as the housing supply available in the affected area.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution,” she said.