Tracking Idalia: Stream FOX 35 News
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Florida’s Department of Health warns, that even with hurricane straps or other tie-downs, mobile homes cannot withstand the wind gusts from a major storm, but at Candlelight Estates in Gainesville, plenty of people plan to wait out Hurricane Idalia.
Ricardo Cordova says he’s been in the area for 30 years.
"Depending on how bad it gets, it can and will shake the foundation of the mobile home," Cordova told FOX 35 News.
He says this is his second mobile home, and he’s lived through plenty of hurricanes.
"If it gets bad enough, it’ll send them into other people’s windows. I remember once, it sent them across the whole field."
But still, he isn’t worried.
"It’s just another day here," said Cordova. "Good old Florida."
Loretta Burnett is a bit more concerned.
She says she talked to her oldest son Monday night, trying to prepare him for Idalia.
"It was really booming last night with the thunder," said Burnett. ‘He was like, ‘We should leave! We should leave!’ and I was like, ‘The storm’s not here yet.’"
The State of Florida funded a research project through the International Hurricane Research Center.
They found mobile homes built before 1976 are at the highest risk during hurricanes, but even those built up to 1994 are vulnerable.
"It is only the third generation of mobile homes built since the middle of 1994 that have any tangible wind resistance," the report states.
Burnett says if emergency officials suggest people living in Candlelight Estates evacuate, she’ll do it.
"I’m in a trailer and you never know what to expect during a storm," said Burnett. "But I have faith that everything will be okay."