Around 79,000 homes were flooded during Harvey: Getty Images

The US federal government auctioned off disaster-response trailers at very low prices in the days before Hurricane Harvey devastated southeast Texas, according to a new investigation.

More than 100 trailers - which are used to house people made homeless in emergencies or disasters - were sold in the two days before the hurricane made landfall.

An Associated Press analysis of government data showed the trailers sold off were all of the latest 2017 model.

While one trailer sold on 23 August went for $500, 4,500 newly ordered one-bedroom trailers are expected to cost around $40,000 each.

Around 300 trailers have been sold by the federal government since the start of the year, leaving just 1,700 for use. About 79,000 homes were flooded by Hurricane Harvey, according to Michael Byrne, disaster recovery coordinator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

FEMA officials said that the units sold had all been used to house survivors of last year’s floods in Southern Louisiana, who returned them with damages that made them unfit for redeployment.

“The ones you will hear about being auctioned are the used models that we’ve determined it’s not cost-effective to refurbish. We’re very rigid and strict about what we’ll refurbish and it’s got to be something that quite frankly any one of us would be comfortable living in and willing to put our families into,” Byrne said.

However, all trailers sold on the Government Services Agency's online auction were advertised without problems or with only minor damage, like missing furniture.

“There’s a vast chasm between what they can supply and what is actually needed,” said Dr Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, adding that he found the trailer auctions an “unfortunate decision.”​

Harvey hit Texas on 25 August as a Category four hurricane, though the worst flooding happened in Houston and other areas when it was classified as a tropical storm. Rain totaled nearly 52 inches (1.3 metres) in some spots. At least 44 deaths are blamed on the storm.

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Agencies contributed to this report.