The term FEMA trailer, or FEMA travel trailer, is the name commonly given by the United States Government to many forms of temporary manufactured housing assigned to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita or other events, by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA trailers were used to house thousands of people in South Florida displaced by Hurricane Andrew in August 1992, for as long as two and a half years. They provide intermediate term shelter intended to function longer than tents used for immediate shelter after a disaster. They serve a similar function to "earthquake shacks" erected to provide interim housing after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
FEMA trailers have become part of the cultural landscape and language of New Orleans and other Gulf Coast communities, along with MREs, toxic mold, Katrina refrigerators, flood insurance, and levee failure. Throughout the city of New Orleans, they have been the only habitable dwellings in some neighborhoods which received extreme flood damage from the recent storms. FEMA trailers have become a common sight, even in neighborhoods that received only moderate flood or wind damage, such as Jefferson Parish.
FEMA trailers remain the property of the U.S. Government and are to be returned after use; however, in 1995 some Florida residents after Hurricane Andrew "bought their FEMA trailers for an average of $1,100 each." On March 25, 2006, FEMA issued a news release requesting residents to call the FEMA Trailer Hotline to schedule removal of unneeded FEMA trailers after use. Surplus FEMA trailers are sold via online public auctions conducted by the General Services Administration (see: GSA website).
Read more about FEMA Trailer: Need For FEMA Trailers, Description, Application Process, Trailer Culture, Health Problems, June 2009 Activities