Mobile homes worth hundreds of millions of dollars are deteriorating in a muddy field in Arkansas and may never be used to house victims of Hurricane Katrina because of a dispute over where to install them, federal officials acknowledged Monday.
Only about 2,700 of the 25,000 mobile homes ordered at a cost of $850 million have been installed, and at least 10,000 are sitting in Hope, Ark., according to documents and statements from Federal Emergency Management Agency officials. Though about 55,000 Louisiana families are still waiting for a manufactured housing unit, the mobile homes may never be used because FEMA regulations prohibit them from being installed in flood-prone coastal areas, federal officials said.
If the Feds had just handed out $850 million to the flood victims — they couldn’t have done worse than the government.
Am I the only one that finds it ironic that the trailers are being left to waste in Clinton’s hometown?
Nick,
Why is that ironic?
It appears the only thing saving us from our government is their total incompetence and greed.
As one radio host said today — this is what happens when the federal government tries to run a charity.
Nice to know all those trailers are sitting empty, when thousands of people are still getting rent assistance.
Feb 14, 6:53 AM EST
Storm Victims to Get Money, but No Hotels
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
Associated Press Writers
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — About 12,000 families made homeless by last year’s hurricanes began checking out of their federally funded hotel rooms around the country Monday after a federal judge let FEMA stop paying directly for their stays.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency promised the evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that they will still receive federal rent assistance that they can put toward hotel stays or other housing. But the agency will no longer pay for their hotel rooms directly.
Just FYI, but that pic isn’t a FEMA trailer. It’s a mobile home.
Here is a link to a FEMA trailer:
http://horizontransport.com/images/FEMA3.jpg
These are made by the 10’s of thousands in my part of the world…
This Katrina reconstruction scandal helps us picture why, after pouring BILLIONS into Iraq, they still aren’t up to Saddam-era infrastructure levels.
As corrupt as Louisiana and the GOP are, the culture of corruption is significantly worse over here.
Either move the mobile homes to the area’s where needed or start finding names of people responsible for buying the homes and people blocking the homes from being deliver and start firing them one by one until things start getting done. No laughing matter here, people are still in need, how can this be happening? Where is the so call people who want to be in charge, and why are they doing nothing. Again start firing people until we get to ones who will get it done. What shame to deal with red tape and greed while people suffer.
I’m just curious as to who owns the companies that sold FEMA these trailers. Somebody has made a bundle of money once again off the government and I wouldn’t be a bit suprised to find out that the owners of the companies are cronies of some powerful politicians.