An analysis by the Associated Press of tornado deaths since 1996, has found 53% of those deaths in people’s homes were in mobile or manufactured housing.
In Wisconsin over that time, there have been 7 such weather-related deaths including 2 in mobile dwellings and 5 others in permanent homes.
While over half of the tornado deaths occur in such residences nationwide, manufactured homes make up less than 6% of the American housing stock.
One of the big problems according to researchers is the federal HUD rules that call for tougher manufactured home standards, including anchoring mobile homes to the ground, apply only in hurricane zones, which is most of Florida and several counties along the coast.
Those are not the areas where tornadoes usually hit.
They strike inland where the weakest federal standards are, according to researchers.
