New mobile homes sold in that state are now required to have built-in weather alert radios.
Kansas and Missouri leaders might take note of this wise development.
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Kansas and Missouri leaders might take note of this wise development.
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Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Weather radios not enough, some say Trailer parks need shelters, experts say
INDIANAPOLIS -Associated Press- Some experts hope a new state law requiring weather radios in mobile homes will be the first step in a series of needed improvements to help keep residents safe when tornadoes and other severe storms hit Indiana.
The law requires mobile homes installed in Indiana after June 30 to be equipped with weather radios that can alert people of pending bad weather. The bill was initiated by Kathryn Martin, whose 2-year-old son, C.J., and two other family members died in a Nov. 6, 2005, tornado that struck the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park in Evansville.
The tornado devastated the mobile home park and killed 25 people across southwestern Indiana.
Jim Keller, a lobbyist for the Indiana Manufactured Housing Association, said all homes can benefit from weather radios, not just homes located in Indiana's 1,200 mobile home parks.
At Chuck's Mobile Home Park in Indianapolis, some residents said the radios can help, especially at night or when televisions aren't turned on.
"I try to leave the television on so that I know what's going on," said Debora Nugent, 47. "But when storms come, I usually shut (electronic) stuff down."
The next steps to protect residents should be reinforcing existing warning systems and creating shelters for mobile home residents, experts said.
"Mobile homes give wind pressure a large area to act on, but they don't have a lot of dead weight to keep anchored down," said Ernst Kiesling, a Texas Tech University civil engineering professor and executive director of the National Storm Shelter Association.
Mobile home residents make up less than 10 percent of the country's population but make up about 33 percent of all tornado-related deaths, he said. From 2000 to 2005, mobile home residents accounted for more than half of tornado-related deaths.
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INDIANAPOLIS -Associated Press- Some experts hope a new state law requiring weather radios in mobile homes will be the first step in a series of needed improvements to help keep residents safe when tornadoes and other severe storms hit Indiana.
The law requires mobile homes installed in Indiana after June 30 to be equipped with weather radios that can alert people of pending bad weather. The bill was initiated by Kathryn Martin, whose 2-year-old son, C.J., and two other family members died in a Nov. 6, 2005, tornado that struck the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park in Evansville.
The tornado devastated the mobile home park and killed 25 people across southwestern Indiana.
Jim Keller, a lobbyist for the Indiana Manufactured Housing Association, said all homes can benefit from weather radios, not just homes located in Indiana's 1,200 mobile home parks.
At Chuck's Mobile Home Park in Indianapolis, some residents said the radios can help, especially at night or when televisions aren't turned on.
"I try to leave the television on so that I know what's going on," said Debora Nugent, 47. "But when storms come, I usually shut (electronic) stuff down."
The next steps to protect residents should be reinforcing existing warning systems and creating shelters for mobile home residents, experts said.
"Mobile homes give wind pressure a large area to act on, but they don't have a lot of dead weight to keep anchored down," said Ernst Kiesling, a Texas Tech University civil engineering professor and executive director of the National Storm Shelter Association.
Mobile home residents make up less than 10 percent of the country's population but make up about 33 percent of all tornado-related deaths, he said. From 2000 to 2005, mobile home residents accounted for more than half of tornado-related deaths.
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