FEMA trailers

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FEMA Told Them to Get Out. It Was Pretty Much Impossible

The 'Washington Post' looks at Camp Fire survivors' inability to find housing

(Newser) - The hits just kept coming for Mike Erickson. The California man lost his home in 2016 in the face of medical debt incurred by wife Crystal's stroke, which partly paralyzed her. In November 2018 came the Camp Fire, which decimated the town of Paradise and left Mike and Crystal...

Tornado-Ravaged Ala. Town Outlaws FEMA Trailers

Alabama mayor doesn't like the run-down mobile home look

(Newser) - A central Alabama town won't let residents left homeless by tornadoes occupy temporary housing trailers provided by FEMA, a decision that has sparked outrage. Cordova, located about 35 miles northwest of Birmingham, got hit by a pair of powerful tornadoes on April 27, the day twisters killed more than...

FEMA Dragging Heels on Recouping $643M

Awaiting its own final approval of debt collection overhaul

(Newser) - Here's something else FEMA isn't good at: Getting its money back. A new government report says that the emergency agency hasn't even tried to get back some $643 million in improper payments it made more than three years ago. What's the holdup? FEMA still hasn't given the final OK to...

New Orleans Boots Residents Out of Last FEMA Trailers

City wants dwellers out by new year

(Newser) - In the five years since Hurricane Katrina, FEMA trailers have been a fixture of the New Orleans landscape—but by the start of next year, the city wants the last ones gone. It calls the 221 remaining trailers an eyesore, and says residents will have to pay fines—as much...

Toxic Katrina Trailers Now House Gulf Workers

Formaldehyde contamination 'no big deal,' buyers say

(Newser) - The toxic trailers that became a symbol of FEMA bungling in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have found their way to a fresh disaster. Dozens of the trailers, which investigators found to contain levels of formaldehyde far in excess of federal limits, are being used as temporary housing for workers...

FEMA Too Slow on Katrina Trailer Toxins: Federal Report

Agency didn't announce toxin find until 2 years after people moved in

(Newser) - FEMA was too slow to deal with reports of toxins in trailers used to house Hurricane Katrina victims, potentially posing a “significant health risk” to thousands along the Gulf Coast, a Homeland Security report says. Residents of the trailers had reported bloody noses, headaches, and worse as a result...

FEMA Will Sell Katrina Trailers to Occupants for $1

Obama administration announces housing plan for victims

(Newser) - Nearly 4 years after Hurricane Katrina hit, the federal government is bringing its assistance program for displaced victims to a close by essentially giving residents the 1,800 mobile homes it has loaned out, the Washington Post reports. Occupants can buy their units for $1 or $5, depending on the...

FEMA Orders Katrina Victims Out of Its Trailers

Residents still rebuilding their homes fret as eviction day looms

(Newser) - FEMA is booting thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims from its trailers at the end of this month whether they have somewhere else to go or not, the New York Times reports. Much of the permanent housing intended to replace the trailers remains unfinished, and as eviction day looms, many of...

Officials: Texas Needs $40B From Feds for Ike Cleanup

Mayors ask Congress to move quickly on relief

(Newser) - Texas officials told Congress today they might need up to $40 billion in aid to rebuild the state's hurricane-hit areas, the Houston Chronicle reports. The state's lieutenant governor sought at least $11.5 billion of aid and as many trailer homes as available to help the 770 communities damaged by...

Great Lakes Study Mired in Politics: Author

Scientist says feds didn't like pollution report, reassigned him

(Newser) - A report suggesting industrial contamination in the Great Lakes poses health threats to residents is being suppressed by the feds, says study author Chris De Rosa, who also claims he was demoted because of his findings. The study found 230,000 "vulnerable" people are living in polluted areas, but...

FEMA to Move Families, Citing Toxins in Trailers

High formaldehyde levels found in lodging of hurricane survivors

(Newser) - FEMA will move thousands of survivors of hurricanes Katrina and Rita out of their government-supplied trailers because of possibly dangerous levels of formaldehyde, the Times-Picayune reports. Those at greatest risk, including those with current health problems, will be moved into apartments and hotels in the next two weeks, with the...

FEMA Buried Dangers of Katrina Trailers, Reps Charge

Formaldehyde risks ignored in scramble

(Newser) - Democrats on a House committee say the Federal Emergency Management Agency ignored good science in using travel trailers with dangerously high levels of formaldehyde as long-term housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina, CNN reports, adding that FEMA suppressed a report on formaldehyde risks. The emergency agency calls yesterday's accusations "...

FEMA Housing Filled With Toxic Gas, Tests Show

Mobile homes yield readings up to 70 times higher than CDC guidelines

(Newser) - The mobile homes and trailers FEMA provided for displaced New Orleans residents are brimming with toxic formaldehyde gas, according to test results obtained by MSNBC. In 95% of cases, formaldehyde levels were at least twice the CDC’s maximum recommendations. The federal government has not followed through on promises to...

Feds Hid Toxic Trailer Danger
Feds Hid Toxic Trailer Danger
Jul 20, 2007 10:32 AM CDT

Feds Hid Toxic Trailer Danger

Refused to conduct tests even after a death

(Newser) - Some 120,000 Hurricane Katrina victims lived in emergency trailers for months, even though FEMA knew they were toxic, with formaldehyde levels 75 times the safety threshold, the Washington Post reports. Officials suppressed the the information and failed to order tests, emails show, because they didn't want to do anything...

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