Responding to an article in the Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi in which Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney says, “manufactured homes…are not built to any code,” Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform’s (MHARR) Danny Ghorbani strongly disputes that claim. He says, “Manufactured homes that are designed and built to be permanent residences have been federally regulated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for nearly forty years. The federal building code for manufactured homes enforced by HUD – and in some instances state regulators — includes specific standards for wind resistance that were significantly upgraded in 1992, following Hurricane Andrew.”

Authored by Jerry Mitchell, under the headline “Mobile Homes can be Tornado Death Traps,” there is no distinguishing between manufactured homes, and recreational vehicles and park model trailers and campers. Similarly, Ghorbani points out, the National Weather Service does not draw a distinction between HUD Code homes and pre-HUD Code factory-builts when detailing damage following a storm. In his letter, Ghorbani reminds Executive Editor Brian Tolley of the recent damage to the Winston Medical Center in Louisville, Miss. from the tornado that struck a few days ago, and that a direct hit from a powerful tornado or hurricane can take out site-built buildings. As MHProNews.com knows, none of the 139 people killed in the Joplin, Missouri tornado of May, 2011 were in manufactured homes. For Ghorbani’s letter, click here.##

(Image credit: Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform)