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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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November
2006
Volume 11 -
Number 2 |
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Update on FEMA Temporary Housing Florida 2004
By Chris Barbera Many people view the 2005 disaster that was Hurricane
Katrina as one of the worst natural disaster in American History. However,
for the people of south Florida, the 2004 Hurricane season far outweighs Katrina’s
consequences. In total, four major Hurricanes, Charlie, Ivan, Jeanne, and
Frances slammed into Florida, causing 110 deaths as well as a property damages
estimated at over 42 billion dollars. In all, 25,000 homes across the state
were either destroyed or rendered uninhabitable, leaving thousands more homeless.
In response, FEMA and Florida’s State Emergency Response Team (SERT) created the Temporary Housing Program to serve the citizens who had lost their homes in the storms. This program provided citizens with several different housing assistance options. Rental assistance and housing repairs were the first and foremost option available to residents given by FEMA. Contrary to common belief, only after these other options had been exhausted were mobile homes provided to individuals and families as temporary housing relief. Depending on their individual needs, citizens were given several options as far as trailer location. Emergency group sites (EGS) were trailer communities established to provide people with short term housing (up to 18 months) until more permanent arrangements could be made. Longer-term FEMA trailer parks were also created for individuals who needed to stay longer than the 18 months allotted in the EGS communities. Finally, in the hardest hit counties, FEMA established long-term mobile home communities while efforts were made to redevelop homes lost to the storm. Information on the status of these housing sites is limited, with the most recent detailed update being a FEMA press release from March of 2005, at which time it appeared as if redevelopment was taking longer than had been expected. In the months following the Hurricanes, a total of over 15,000 trailers were donated by FEMA to the citizens of Florida. In 2004, 15 EGS sites were created with over 1500 mobile housing units in all. As of March 2005, 9 sites with 570 units still remained, showing a slow but steady decrease in people in these short term communities. In addition, as of March 2005, 13 longer term mobile home communities remained across the state, with a total of 1,315 units in all. In eight of the hardest hit counties, over 850 units remain in use while disaster recovery continues. Finally, a total of 9.000 units remained in use on private property, bringing the grand total of FEMA trailers being used to 11,735. In 2006, FEMA issued a deadline for all residents residing in temporary housing to vacate by September 26, which was pushed back to October 31st when further analysis showed many residents still had no place to go. The real question is how will FEMA deal with the thousands of residents who are still without homes due to the disaster as the deadline approaches. Sources: Fema.gov TCPalm.com |