ATLANTA, AL – May 9, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Eleven units arrived on May 7 for residents in the town of Phil Campbell. It is an area with an extreme shortage of available rental housing and apartments. Additional housing will be provided by FEMA and the State of Alabama to other counties where the demand for housing is greater than the supply.
Manufactured housing is provided as the option of last resort in areas with limited available rental housing. FEMA will not provide travel trailers or mobile homes to disaster survivors – even those who lived in mobile homes before the tornadoes – if other forms of temporary housing are available.
“Once every other housing option is exhausted, we can bring in temporary housing units, such as manufactured housing,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Michael F. Byrne.
If a temporary housing unit cannot be set up on the applicant’s lot, it will be set up on an existing pad in a private or commercial mobile home park.
“We are working to house families as close to home as possible,” said Alabama Emergency Management Agency Director Art Faulkner.
The mobile homes and park models are temporary housing for displaced residents while they seek permanent housing or wait for extensive repairs to be completed. Those living in the units will have their cases reviewed each month to determine their eligibility for continued FEMA assistance. Survivors can live in the units up to 18 months.
Each unit is equipped with a NOAA weather radio and meets strict specifications for indoor air quality. For example, formaldehyde emission levels are comparable to conventional U.S. homes.
The critical first step in getting FEMA assistance of any kind is to register with FEMA by calling 800-621-FEMA or (TTY) 800-462-7585 for those with speech or hearing impairments from
7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily until further notice. Registration is available 24 hours a day online at http://www.disasterassistance.gov/ or by smartphone at m.fema.gov.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.
FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for public transportation expenses, medical and dental expenses, and funeral and burial expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, applicants who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA loan officers to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.
For more information on Alabama’s disaster recovery, visit
For the joint Facebook page, go to fema.gov or www.facebook.com/AlabamaEMA. To receive Twitter updates: twitter.com/AlabamaEMA or twitter.com/#!/femaregion4.– The first temporary housing units have been delivered to Alabama residents impacted by the recent devastating tornadoes.
