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Despite tornado threat, shelters rare for mobile home parks

In an Oct. 22, 2015 photo, David A. Roden, owner of Mountain View Estates, speaks about a tornado shelter that he built for his mobile home park residents in Rossville, Ga. Experts have long warned that people in mobile homes face a greater risk of death from tornadoes, yet laws requiring storm shelters in trailer parks or public spaces such as schools are few and far between. Roden believes he is the first park owner in the southeast to offer residents a storm shelter. (Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP) /Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)
In an Oct. 22, 2015 photo, David A. Roden, owner of Mountain View Estates, speaks about a tornado shelter that he built for his mobile home park residents in Rossville, Ga. Experts have long warned that people in mobile homes face a greater risk of death from tornadoes, yet laws requiring storm shelters in trailer parks or public spaces such as schools are few and far between. Roden believes he is the first park owner in the southeast to offer residents a storm shelter. (Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP) /Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP) In an Oct. 22, 2015 photo, David A. Roden, owner of Mountain View Estates, speaks about a tornado shelter that he built for his mobile home park residents in Rossville, Ga. Experts have long warned that people in mobile homes face a greater risk of death from tornadoes, yet laws requiring storm shelters in trailer parks or public spaces such as schools are few and far between. Roden believes he is the first park owner in the southeast to offer residents a storm shelter. (Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP) /Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP)

By Associated Press 1 min read

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) – Ten of at least 20 people killed in a weekend tornado outbreak lived in Georgia mobile home parks, yet laws requiring storm shelters in those vulnerable communities are few and far between.

Laura Myers studies tornado disasters at the University of Alabama. She says few states and cities mandate storm shelters, despite the increased risk to mobile home dwellers when tornadoes hit. The National Weather Service says 44 percent of Americans killed by tornadoes from 1985 to 2005 died in mobile homes.

Alabama and Illinois have laws requiring shelters in new schools. And Minnesota mandates shelters for mobile home parks with more than 10 homes. So does an ordinance in Wichita, Kansas.

Patricia Boerger of the Manufactured Housing Institute said no above-ground building is safe during a tornado.