Ruth Nielsen will have a front-row seat to the demolition of her own home.
She was one of hundreds of Eugowra residents who were expected to receive a modular pod, three months after a deadly flash flood almost wiped the quiet town off the map.
Ms Nielsen's was the first to be installed, lifted into the backyard by a crane, only metres from her brick home that was torn from its foundations when the water roared through.
"It was a lovely surprise because I wasn't expecting it for another six months," Ms Nielsen said.
But it was bittersweet.
"It took me 70 years to own a house. I had it for six years."
The one-bedroom rectangular pod features a kitchen with a fridge, stove and oven; a wardrobe and TV over the bed, and an ensuite.
Ms Nielsen's much larger brick home was on a list of about 80 set for demolition, and excavators were already at work tearing a neighbour's house apart.
Once it goes, Ms Nielsen said she would "have nothing to leave my kids anymore".
For others though, the process of moving from temporary accommodation to the semi-permanent pods was not clear-cut.
Those in need were being asked to apply, and renters need to have permission from a landlord to use the site.
Ken Woodford, who has mobility issues, said it left him living in a grey area.
His unit has been badly damaged, so like many others he has been in a caravan at the showground for months.
But while grateful, it's "crammed and difficult to move around," he said.
"You've got to be a gymnast to get in and out of it."
He was optimistic moving into a pod would be more comfortable and easier, provided a more permanent site could be arranged.
"The people that own their own homes have a place to put the modules whereas renters, like myself and my young neighbours here, they've probably got nowhere to put them."
The NSW Reconstruction Authority, formerly Resilience NSW, was organising the pods.
There were about 165 modules available to people across the Cabonne Shire, which included other flood-hit areas of Cudal and Molong.
The $40 million pod program would be rolled to other councils in the Central West soon.
Director for temporary housing, William Gray, said they would be working with residents to meet their needs, including ramps to reach the raised floors.
People could stay for up to two years while they figured out their next steps, including rebuilding.
"The caravans were that immediate temporary housing solution," Mr Gray said.
"The step after that is to get them into something more permanent to this is where the pods come in."
Mr Gray said he was working closely with the Cabonne Council "to make sure we're placing pods not only for the most vulnerable and people in need but also in a way that meets the needs of council and community."
The Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said the housing pods would complement the 110 caravans already in place across the Cabonne Shire.
"It's important people remain as close as possible to their own home and connected with their community while they undertake the difficult clean-up and rebuilding process, and that's what the modular homes will allow," Ms Cooke said.
