FEMA to close Katrina trailer camps in May

NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency said it intends to close trailer camps run for hurricane evacuees by the end of May.

FEMA officials said the closures are meant to encourage and assist residents from the trailer camps set up after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which struck the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, to more permanent housing before the next hurricane season, The New York Times reported Thursday.

"We're with them every step of the way," said FEMA spokeswoman Diane L. W. Perry. Perry said no residents will be forced out of trailers if they have no other place to reside.

Low-income families will maintain assistance through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Times said.

FEMA officials said earlier concerns over formaldehyde contamination in the trailers also influenced the decision.