News reports of health issues relating to Katrina-issue FEMA trailers began to appear in July 2006.[12] A federal report in July 2006 identified toxic levels of formaldehyde in 42% of the trailers examined, attributing problems to poor construction and substandard building materials.[13] As of 2012, two class-action lawsuits were settled, between residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas, and (1) manufacturers who built mobile homes for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and (2) FEMA contractors who installed and maintained them.[14]
FEMA trailers are the property of the U.S. government and are expected to be returned after use. In 1995, some Florida residents who had difficulty finding accommodation in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew "bought their FEMA trailers for an average of $1,100 each."[7] Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the U.S. government was left with large numbers of FEMA trailers. Surplus FEMA trailers were sold via online public auctions conducted by the General Services Administration. The distribution and resale of Katrina FEMA trailers has been heavily criticized given the possible health risks involved.[15]
Since 2012, FEMA has modified its model for responding to storms. It provides money for temporary housing or repairs to get through the emergency, and treats FEMA trailers as a "last resort".[16]
Description
A FEMA trailer (travel trailer) in front of a formerly flooded house in New Orleans.
Although several types and sizes of manufactured structures have been installed throughout the Gulf Coast region, most are mass-produced, one-bedroom travel trailers. These typical FEMA trailers are designed to accommodate two adults and two children. There are larger trailers and other manufactured structures that can accommodate larger families.
A typical FEMA trailer can measure 14' by 22' (308 sq. ft.)[4]:56 or 8' by 32' (256 sq. ft.).[17]:83 It consists of a master bedroom with a standard size bed, a living area with kitchen and stove, bunk beds, and a bathroom with shower. Each trailer is equipped with electricity, air conditioning, indoor heating, running cold and hot water, a propane-operated stove and oven, a small microwave oven, a large refrigerator, and a few pieces of furniture attached to the floor; usually a sofabed, a small table, and two chairs. There are only a handful of FEMA trailer designs, so nearly all trailers have the same general layout. Furniture is attached to the trailer; it is not possible to move it, and it would be illegal to do so. It is also illegal to paint the inside or outside of the trailer.[17]:82–86 Trailers have little storage space, can be very cramped, and offer little or no privacy.[17][18][19]
Each trailer is elevated about two feet (0.6 m) above the ground, on concrete supports. There is only one door on the side of each trailer, which is accessible through a wooden or aluminum stairwell. There are also long ramps for wheelchair-using occupants. Electrical service to the FEMA trailers is installed by the local power company. (For example, in most of the Gulf Coast region power is provided by the Entergy Corporation.) Each trailer has its own power meter. Trailers have ports for telephone access, cable, and Internet access. However, these services are not handled by FEMA, and a trailer occupant must arrange to have these services installed by a local provider.[4]
The typical FEMA trailer has two propane tanks on the front of the trailer behind the master bedroom, which provide the hot water, indoor heating, and gas for the stove and oven. Running water for the trailer is usually provided by some sort of water source on the property, usually through a garden hose. Sewage is piped directly to an underground sewage main on the property. Most trailers have several windows which can be opened, as well as small light fixtures in each room.[4]
FEMA trailers are manufactured from plastic, aluminum, and particle board, and are therefore somewhat flimsy and require more maintenance than a permanent structure. They are also poorly insulated, offer little sound insulation, and are known to sway in high winds.[20]
While occupying FEMA travel trailers or mobile homes, residents are responsible for maintaining their trailers, such as keeping the trailers clean, changing lightbulbs and smoke-detector batteries, and making sure propane fuel tanks are refilled with fuel.[1]
Travel trailers and mobile homes are to be inspected once a month for the occupant's safety and convenience: if a travel trailer or mobile home requires maintenance beyond basic upkeep, residents are told to call the appropriate travel trailer maintenance hotline for their parish or county.[1] In Houston, 1200 of the 4600 trailers initially issued after Hurricane Rita required serious repairs by late 2006.[21]
FEMA trailers are intended to provide temporary housing for homeowners after a disaster, until they can repair or rebuild their homes.[2] Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and other natural disasters can cause extensive damage to residential neighborhoods, as occurred in 2005 because of Hurricane Katrina.[22][23][24]
Damaged areas may take substantial periods of time to repair. Residents may be unable to return home for long periods of time while local government officials attempt to restore basic infrastructure for water and electricity.[25] Flood damage to existing homes and apartments may require the complete removal and replacement of carpeting, flooring, insulation, and sheetrock.[26] Flood damage beyond a few inches may also destroy furniture, appliances, and other personal belongings. Buildings that have sustained significant water damage, including apartment complexes, often require extensive rebuilding and a mold-removal process known as "mold remediation" before they can be rendered safe enough for habitation.[27] Roofs may also need to be replaced or repaired.
Widespread damage in an area may cause extreme housing shortages. The extent of the rebuilding effort in such an area may cause a shortage of building contractors and materials throughout the region. This further delays the construction of new housing, and increases a need for existing apartments or motels to house incoming construction and service workers. Leasing rates for apartments may become prohibitively high for those who have lost their homes, particularly working class storm victims.[28][29] FEMA trailers, which are offered rent-free, may be the only form of habitable dwellings available to those within a disaster area. In 2005, "the devastation of housing in New Orleans and surrounding communities was so widespread that large numbers of the displaced had few options but to take up residence in FEMA parks" following extreme flood damage.[30] FEMA trailer occupants reported that they preferred the trailers to living in cars, tents, partially gutted homes, and the crowded homes of relatives.[2][31]
FEMA policy generally allows residents to live in a FEMA trailer for a period of 18 months, beginning at the time at which they receive access to the trailer. However, this period has sometimes been extended when availability of housing continued to be a serious problem for a longer time.[2] In the case of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, deadlines were extended to allow people to live in trailers for up to 45 months.[32]
Application process
FEMA trailers delivered to New Orleans by train, after Hurricane Katrina
People within a disaster area are eligible to apply for various forms of "Housing assistance" from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These may include: (1) reimbursement for short term hotel expenses (2) money or vouchers towards rental of a place to live for up to 18 months while your home is being repaired (3) money to make repairs to your home (4) money to purchase a new home if your home cannot be repaired (5) a temporary "FEMA-owned manufactured housing unit" as a last resort if no other housing options are available.[33]
To obtain disaster manufactured housing, someone must complete a FEMA application, after which they will be interviewed by a FEMA adjuster, who is similar to an insurance claims adjuster. The adjuster will determine if the damage to the home warrants temporary housing until the home is repaired.[34] After approval, the applicant is placed on a waiting list.
Installation
FEMA trailer (at left) alongside a Katrina-damaged house in St. Bernard Parish, LouisianaFEMA trailer park, in what had been a neighborhood playground.
FEMA requires that a property must have basic utilities including running water and power before a trailer can be installed. FEMA will not install trailers in neighborhoods that have no access to running water or electricity.[35]
FEMA subcontracts the installation of FEMA trailers to numerous private contractors. First, a subcontractor installs the trailer itself. After this, other contractors install the access stairs or ramps, furniture, home appliances, and water. Next, the power company must be contacted to install a power line and power meter for the trailer. Finally, a FEMA inspector will inspect the trailer for safety compliance. Only after this lengthy process, will the occupant receive the keys for their trailer.[36]
Many FEMA trailers are installed on the private property of homeowners, usually on lawns and sometimes in driveways next to the house. However, there are also numerous FEMA operated trailer parks where many storm victims have been living.[37][38]
The trailer parks operated by FEMA range from small lots, consisting of a dozen trailers in the parking lots of office buildings and supermarkets, to several massive parks occupying large plots of land with hundreds of trailers. In some cases larger parks are surrounded by a chain-link fence and brightly lit. FEMA has also provided police security and controlled access to the larger parks.[39] FEMA trailer parks have developed into small communities, with both the benefits and problems that are involved.[17][19][38][39]
Reports of health problems in the FEMA trailers deployed in 2005 had begun to appear by July 2006. Residents reported breathing difficulties, persistent flu-like symptoms, eye irritation, and nosebleeds. The cause was suspected to be high formaldehyde levels in the trailers.[12] Formaldehyde was known to increase risk of cancer, asthma and other respiratory problems,[13] and children and the elderly were at greater risk.[12] As of 2008, FEMA was reported to have received 11,000 health complaints.[13]
Scientists suspected that the rush to produce large numbers of trailers might have caused manufacturers to cut corners—using low-cost or poorly prepared materials such as glues and pressed wood in construction of the trailers, and resulting in high levels of formaldehyde emissions.[40][41] In 2007, tests on a number of FEMA trailers by the Sierra Club showed 83% had levels of formaldehyde in the indoor air at levels above the EPA recommended limit.[40][42] Congressmen Henry Waxman and Charlie Melancon requested that FEMA test the trailers and address the issue.[43]
The United States Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) performed indoor air quality testing for formaldehyde in some of the units. On February 14, 2008, the CDC published a preliminary report confirming that potentially hazardous levels of formaldehyde were found in many of the travel trailers and manufactured homes provided by FEMA.[44] In July 2008, researchers conducting a federally funded analysis reported that the toxic levels of formaldehyde were found in 42% of the trailers tested, and that they were attributable to faulty construction practices and the use of substandard building materials.[13]
As a result, FEMA modified its specifications for emergency housing, requiring that units be larger and better ventilated.[15] Construction of "manufactured homes" provided in New Jersey in 2012 was regulated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.[45] Researchers are also investigating possibilities for better disaster housing alternatives.[46][47]
Distribution and resale
On March 25, 2006, FEMA issued a news release requesting residents to call the FEMA Trailer Hotline to schedule removal of unneeded FEMA trailers after Katrina and Rita-related use.[48]
In May 2009, FEMA sent eviction notices to residents in Mississippi who were living in FEMA trailers, sparking protests that the lack of available housing would result in them facing homelessness.[49] Awareness of health concerns did not deter some residents, one of whom commented that "A dry roof over a toxic trailer beats no roof at all."[50] On May 30, FEMA extended a deadline that would have evicted people from FEMA trailers. A FEMA spokesman said the organization was working with federal, state and local partners to help the residents get long-term housing.[50]
On June 3, 2009, FEMA announced plans to virtually give away roughly 1,800 mobile homes to 3,400 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina who were living in government-provided housing along the Gulf Coast.[32]
Sticker reads "NOT TO BE USED FOR HOUSING"
In 2010, the General Services Administration began holding mass public auctions of returned FEMA trailers. Units were marked with stickers that identified them as not suitable for housing, and buyers were required to sign a waiver agreeing that trailers would not be used as housing, and that new owners would be informed of the risks if the units were resold. The stickers are easy to remove, and Katrina FEMA trailers have been widely resold without any warning of possible health hazards. As many as 130,000 trailers are reported to have gone into the resale market, often in disaster zones and other places where there is strong demand for low-cost housing.[15]
In Alabama and other parts of the South, after tornadoes caused widespread destruction in 2011, post-Katrina trailers were being sold for between $2,000 and $4,000 each.[15] FEMA trailers have been sold to oil-field workers in areas such as North Dakota, where housing is in short supply.[51] Trailers were also distributed to Native American reservations,[52][53] including the Mescalero Apache in New Mexico, Standing Rock Sioux in North Dakota and South Dakota, the Cherokee in Oklahoma and the Oglala Sioux in South Dakota.[54]
It is possible to determine whether a trailer was originally one of the Hurricane Katrina trailers by checking the vehicle's VIN.[55] A number of resources have been suggested for those concerned about a FEMA trailer.[56]
Class-action settlements
As of 2012, U.S. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt of New Orleans approved a $42.6 million class-action lawsuit settlement. Plaintiffs, who included roughly 55,000 residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas, had alleged that the FEMA trailers emitted hazardous levels of the toxic chemical formaldehyde. The defendants included two dozen manufacturers who built mobile homes for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including Gulf Stream Coach Inc., Forest River Inc., Vanguard LLC and Monaco Coach Corp. A separate $5.1 million settlement dealt with claims against FEMA contractors including Shaw Environmental Inc., Bechtel Corp., Fluor Enterprises Inc. and CH2M Hill Constructors Inc., who were responsible for installing and maintaining the units.[14]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1, 1979. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency and formally request from the President that FEMA and the federal government respond to the disaster. The only exception to the state's gubernatorial declaration requirement occurs when an emergency or disaster takes place on federal property or to a federal asset—for example, the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, or the Space Shuttle Columbia in the 2003 return-flight disaster.
A trailer park, caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and easy moving to a new area.
Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season.
Hurricane Katrina was a devastating and deadly Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $186.3 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. Katrina was the twelfth tropical cyclone, the fifth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States, gauged by barometric pressure.
The article covers the Hurricane Katrina effects by region, within the United States and Canada. The effects of Hurricane Katrina, in late August 2005, were catastrophic and widespread. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history, leaving at least 1,836 people dead, and a further 135 missing. The storm was large and had an effect on several different areas of North America.
Criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina was a major political dispute in the United States in 2005 that consisted primarily of condemnations of mismanagement and lack of preparation in the relief effort in response to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Specifically, there was a delayed response to the flooding of New Orleans, Louisiana.
The disaster recovery response to Hurricane Katrina in late 2005 included U.S. federal government agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), state and local-level agencies, federal and National Guard soldiers, non-governmental organizations, charities, and private individuals. Tens of thousands of volunteers and troops responded or were deployed to the disaster; most in the affected area but also throughout the U.S. at shelters set up in at least 19 states.
Hurricane Katrina had many social effects, due the significant loss and disruption of lives it caused. The number of fatalities, direct and indirect, related to Katrina is 1,833 and over 400,000 people were left homeless. The hurricane left hundreds of thousands of people without access to their homes or jobs, it separated people from relatives, and caused both physical and mental distress on those who suffered through the storm and its aftermath, such as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Hurricane Katrina's winds and storm surge reached the Mississippi coastline on the morning of August 29, 2005. beginning a two-day path of destruction through central Mississippi; by 10a.m. CDT on August 29, 2005, the eye of Katrina began traveling up the entire state, only slowing from hurricane-force winds at Meridian near 7p.m. and entering Tennessee as a tropical storm. Many coastal towns of Mississippi had already been obliterated, in a single night. Hurricane-force winds reached coastal Mississippi by 2a.m. and lasted over 17 hours, spawning 11 tornadoes and a 28-foot (8.5 m) storm surge flooding 6–12 miles (9.7–19.3 km) inland. Many, unable to evacuate, survived by climbing to attics or rooftops, or swimming to higher buildings and trees. The worst property damage from Katrina occurred in coastal Mississippi, where all towns flooded over 90% in hours, and waves destroyed many historic buildings, with others gutted to the 3rd story. Afterward, 238 people died in Mississippi, and all counties in Mississippi were declared disaster areas, 49 for full federal assistance. Regulations were changed later for emergency centers and casinos. The emergency command centers were moved higher because all 3 coastal centers flooded at 30 ft (9.1 m) above sea level. Casinos were allowed on land rather than limited to floating casino barges as in 2005.
The reconstruction of New Orleans refers to the rebuilding process endured by the city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the city on August 29, 2005. The storm caused levees to fail, releasing tens of billions of gallons of water. The levee failure contributed to extensive flooding in the New Orleans area and surrounding parishes. About 80% of all structures in Orleans Parish sustained water damage. Over 204,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and more than 800,000 citizens displaced—the greatest displacement in the United States since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Wind damage was less severe than predicted. The damage that took place that needed to be repaired cost about $125 billion.
This article contains a historical timeline of the events of Hurricane Katrina on August 23–30, 2005 and its aftermath.
Hurricane Katrina struck the United States on August 29, 2005, causing over a thousand deaths and extreme property damage, particularly in New Orleans. The incident affected numerous areas of governance, including disaster preparedness and environmental policy.
Lakeview is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Lakeview District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Allen Toussaint Boulevard to the north, Orleans Avenue to the east, Florida Boulevard, Canal Boulevard and I-610 to the south and Pontchartrain Boulevard to the west. Lakeview is sometimes used to describe the entire area bounded by Lake Pontchartrain to the north, the Orleans Avenue Canal to the east, City Park Avenue to the south and the 17th Street Canal to the west. This larger definition includes the West End, Lakewood and Navarre neighborhoods, as well as the Lakefront neighborhoods of Lakeshore and Lake Vista.
Tropical Storm Henri was a moderate tropical storm that formed in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. The eighth storm of the season, Henri was one of six tropical cyclones to hit the United States in the year. Henri formed from a tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico in early September, and crossed over Florida as a tropical depression. Its remnants later moved into the Mid-Atlantic before dissipating completely.
The effects of Hurricane Isabel in Delaware resulted in one of only thirteen presidential disaster declarations for the state of Delaware. Hurricane Isabel formed from a tropical wave on September 6, 2003, in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It moved northwestward, and within an environment of light wind shear and warm waters, it steadily strengthened to reach peak winds of 165 mph (266 km/h) on September 11. After fluctuating in intensity for four days, Isabel gradually weakened and made landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with winds of 105 mph (169 km/h) on September 18. It quickly weakened over land and became extratropical over Pennsylvania the next day. The storm's center remained to the south and west of Delaware, and was about 175 miles (282 km) from the state at its closest approach. At that time, Isabel was a strong tropical storm located in central Virginia.
In Maryland and Washington, D.C., the effects of Hurricane Isabel were among the most damaging from a tropical cyclone in the respective metropolitan area. Hurricane Isabel formed from a tropical wave on September 6, 2003, in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It moved northwestward, and within an environment of light wind shear and warm waters, it steadily strengthened to reach peak winds of 165 miles per hour (266 km/h) on September 11. After fluctuating in intensity for four days, Isabel gradually weakened and made landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with winds of 105 miles per hour (169 km/h) on September 18. It quickly weakened over land and became extratropical over western Pennsylvania the next day.
Internally displaced persons in the United States are people from the Gulf States region in the southern United States, most notably New Orleans, Louisiana, who were forced to leave their homes because of the devastation brought on by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and were unable to return because of a multitude of factors, and are collectively known as the Gulf Coast diaspora and by standard definition considered IDPs. At their peak, hurricane evacuee shelters housed 273,000 people and, later, FEMA trailers housed at least 114,000 households. Even a decade after Hurricane Katrina, many victims who were forced to relocate were still unable to return home.
The effects of Hurricane Katrina in Florida were in both the southern portion of the state and in the panhandle. After developing on August 23, Katrina made landfall near the border of Broward and Miami-Dade counties with 80 mph (130 km/h) winds on August 25. While it was crossing the state, the hurricane's convection was asymmetrical, primarily located to the south and east of the center. As a result, high rainfall totals occurred in the Miami area, peaking at 16.43 in (417 mm) in Perrine. The rains caused flooding, and the combination of rains and winds downed trees and power lines, leaving 1.45 million people without power. Damage in South Florida was estimated at $523 million (2005 USD), mostly as a result of crop damage. Further south, the hurricane spawned a tornado in the Florida Keys. In the island chain, Katrina caused heavy rainfall and gusty winds.
Hurricane Floyd in 1999 was the costliest natural disaster in New Jersey's history, until it was surpassed by Hurricane Irene in 2011. Damage in the state totaled $250 million (1999 USD), much of it in Somerset and Bergen counties. Seven people died in New Jersey during Floyd's passage – six due to drowning, and one in a traffic accident. A police lieutenant took his life after coordinating floodwater rescues for nearly 48 hours.
The effects of Hurricane Floyd in North Carolina was the costliest natural disaster in the state's history until it was surpassed by Hurricane Florence in 2018.
↑ US Department of Commerce, "Service Assessment: Hurricane Katrina August 23–31, 2005" (June 2006), pp. 10/16, NOAA’s National Weather Service, Silver Spring, MD, webpage: NWS-PDFArchived 2006-07-23 at the Wayback Machine : page 7 (surge 26-28 feet, 9 m), page 50: "Appendix C: Tornado Reports Associated with Hurricane Katrina" (62 tornadoes).
↑ Gary Tuchman, Transcript of "Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees" (2006-08-29) 19:00 ET, CNN, CNN.com webpage: CNN-ACooper082906: GARY TUCHMAN, CNN Correspondent: Responds to Anderson Cooper that it felt like it would never end, saying winds were at least 100 miles per hour in Gulfport for seven hours, between about 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. For another five or six hours, on each side of that, they [Gulfport] had hurricane-force winds over 75 miles per hour; much of the city [Gulfport, Mississippi, in Harrison County] of 71,000 was then under water.
"FEMA Trailers For Sale". GovernmentAuctions.org. GovernmentAuctions.org, A Division of Cyweb Holdings, Inc. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
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