CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — At least two victims of Hurricane Milton in Charlotte County received disaster trailers, only to have the trailers taken away days later.
Theresa Miller told Fox 4 that her home in Cape Haze was flooded with five feet of water from Hurricane Milton.
Watch Fox 4's Alex Orenczuk's report on Hurricane Milton victims having disaster relief trailers taken away from them:
“So, pretty much everything was destroyed,” said Miller.
Miller, like most everyone else who took damage in the hurricanes, she went to FEMA for help, and said she was informed she qualified for the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s Non-Congregate Sheltering Program.
“I contacted FEMA, they came out and did their initial assessment, then they came out and measured for a trailer,” Miller told Fox 4. “It was Thanksgiving week, they came out and put the trailer up. It was exciting to see that we were getting some sort of help, you know I have a 70-year-old mother that I live with and she needs a place to sleep.”
She said over two days, contractors installed the trailer in her yard, hooking up electricity, plumbing, and building a wooden ramp entrance. On Thanksgiving, she said she watched as the ramp was disassembled and the trailer was taken away.
“They were supposed to give us the keys to it, and instead they tell us they’re taking the camper back,” said Miller.
According to Miller, she was told that because she lives in a flood zone, the trailer couldn’t be parked there, despite the fact that the trailer was already set up.
Annette Calo who lives in Port Charlotte had a similar experience. She said she qualified for a trailer, one was brought and installed, then taken away within days.
“You should have never offered it, because all you did was send me back into a tailspin,” said Calo.
Both Miller and Calo said they worked with FEMA representatives to get the trailers, who they said were present during the trailer installations and while the trailers were removed, despite the fact the trailers were associated with a state program.
Fox 4 spoke with a FEMA representative who said direct disaster relief housing is not currently available in Charlotte County through the federal agency.
Fox 4 did request more information from FDEM about how many trailers were installed then subsequently removed in Charlotte County, and why.
