Your first hurricane season in a Florida mobile home: what to do before, during and after a storm

Hurricane season in Florida runs from June 1 to November 30. If you live in a mobile home, it works a little differently than for neighbors in a site-built house, starting with one rule: when a strong storm is coming, you leave.

Why mobile home residents always leave

The National Weather Service says mobile homes are unsafe in high winds no matter how well they are fastened to the ground. That is why Florida's emergency management agency tells anyone in a mobile home to follow evacuation orders, and why many counties ask mobile home residents to leave even when their zone is not being evacuated.

• Pinellas County says mobile home residents must always evacuate when an evacuation is ordered.
• Hillsborough County places every mobile home in evacuation Zone A, the first to leave.
• Pasco and Marion ordered everyone in a mobile home to evacuate before Hurricane Milton in 2024.
• For tornadoes, the Weather Service advises leaving a mobile home when a tornado watch is issued, because a warning may be too late.

Before June: get the home ready

1. Have the tie-downs checked. Florida law requires every lived-in mobile home to be anchored against wind, and rusted or loose straps are the most common problem we find.
2. Know where you will go: family or friends in a site-built home outside the evacuation area, or your county's shelter. Ask now if the shelter takes pets.
3. Look up your zone at floridadisaster.org/knowyourzone.
4. Review your insurance: what it covers for wind and for flood, and the deductible. Flood is usually a separate policy.
5. Put your title, insurance policy and IDs in one waterproof bag, and take photos of the home inside and out.
6. Know where the main breaker and the water shutoff are.

Help that exists, and what does not cover mobile homes

• Florida lets insurers give mobile home owners a discount of up to 10% of the yearly premium with a current tie-down inspection certificate.
• The state's free Mobile Home Tie-Down Program, run through Gulf Coast State College, retrofits qualifying homes installed in 1999 or earlier. It has a waiting list.
• The My Safe Florida Home program, which helps site-built homes harden against storms, does not cover mobile or manufactured homes.

When a storm is coming

• Bring in or tie down anything loose: chairs, grills, planters, trash cans.
• Turn off the main breaker and the water before you leave if officials advise it.
• Leave early. Roads and shelters fill up fast once an order goes out.

After the storm

1. Come back only when local officials say it is safe.
2. Before going inside, look at the home from outside: is it still level and on its piers, are the straps still tight, is there water damage or a downed line nearby?
3. Take photos of every damage for your insurance before you clean or repair.
4. If there is a disaster declaration, register with FEMA at DisasterAssistance.gov or 1-800-621-3362.
5. In a flood zone, the county decides whether the home is substantially damaged, and that decides what repairs are allowed. Some counties use a 49% line, not 50%.
6. Have the anchors and the level checked before you move back in. A home that shifted can look fine from the street.