Mississippi Emergency Management Agency condemned more than 230 cottages, leaving coastal Mississippi residents scrambling to find shelter in a storm-scarred region where affordable housing is scarce. Hundreds of FEMA trailers were replaced with cottages in 2007, and many of these cottages did not survive the latest round of Hurricanes. Cottages are meant to be temporary
Mississippi says they can be converted into permanent dwellings. The state obtained a federal waiver allowing them to be temporarily set up in flood zones so residents could live on their own property. it is Mississippi Emergency Management Agency’s responsibility to condemn cottages insurance adjusters deemed uninhabitable. Mississippi plans to offer new cottages, if residents are willing to relocate to a commercial mobile home park or a plot of land where the cottage could qualify as permanent housing.
For many Gustav evacuees, things are looking desperate.