Mobile homes returning to Louisiana after deadly flooding

(AP) — Mobile homes will fill front yards across southern Louisiana again, just like after Hurricane Katrina, as federal authorities bring in temporary housing for thousands of people displaced by catastrophic flooding.

Homeowners will be able to receive grants of up to $15,000 aimed at making houses habitable quickly so people can live inside while doing more extensive repairs.

Edwards underscored that "this is not the preferred option," but he drew a contrast to the old Federal Emergency Management Agency travel trailers used a decade ago.

The much-maligned travel trailer that dotted front yards and miles of vacant property in south Louisiana and Mississippi became a symbol of everything that had gone wrong with the federal disaster response to the destructive 2005 hurricane.

Families were crammed into tiny trailers that drew health worries after toxic levels of formaldehyde were found.

Thousands of south Louisiana residents remain stuck in shelters, living in hotels or staying in the spare bedrooms of family and friends after the flooding.