Last week the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development issued a report with a series of recommendations to improve the disaster resilience of mobile homes and parks. The report details many of the difficulties faced by mobile home park residents in the wake of Irene as well as ways to improve mobile home parks and protect them from future floods. More from the news release:
Mobile homes are nearly twice as likely to be located in a flood hazard area as stick built homes and were disproportionately impacted by Tropical Storm Irene. Unfortunately, mobile home residents often lack the resources necessary to repair or replace their homes, and difficult lessons were learned about the state’s preparedness for responding to disasters affecting this housing segment. …the Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development issued a series of recommendations to improve the disaster resilience of mobile homes and parks. Its Report on the Viability and Disaster Resilience of Mobile Home Ownership and Parks also addresses longstanding challenges facing mobile home and park owners. Based on extensive research and collaboration with other agencies and stakeholders, the report suggests actions at the individual, local and statewide levels. “With two years of disaster and recovery experience behind us, we know what makes mobile homes vulnerable and what can be done to make Vermonters who reside in them safer,” Jennifer Hollar, Deputy Commissioner of the Department, said. “Simple and complex, inexpensive and costly, individually and statewide, there are many ways to improve the resilience of this important form of affordable housing.” The Department will work with state agencies, housing groups and others to implement the recommendations…
Some of the recommendations include:
Giving municipal governments the authority to prepare for future disasters;
Providing education and outreach to Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC’s), park owners and residents on disaster preparedness planning and strategies;
Looking into the availability of financing for mobile homes and alternative types of park ownership, and mobile home construction to replace older, inefficient units;
Using a Mobile Home Park Risk Assessment Tool enabling agencies and park owners to identify and assess the vulnerabilities of a park, allowing planning and mitigation to occur or to respond to any sale or closure notices.
Read the full report here. See also: VPR: Study Takes Stock of Irene’s Impact on Mobile Homes MCV: VT Recommends Actions to Make Mobile Homes & Parks Less Vulnerable
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