If you live in a mobile or manufactured home in Florida, your hurricane plan is different from your neighbor’s in a block house: the state’s emergency management division says it is never safe to stay in a manufactured home during a high-wind event, so your plan has to include where you will go. This checklist walks through what to do before the season, when a storm is coming, and after it passes.
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Why mobile homes need their own plan
Florida has more manufactured-home residents than any other state: more than 800,000 people, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM). FDEM’s guidance for these homes comes down to three things: protect the places where wind can get in, check the tie-down and anchoring system before a storm, and leave when officials tell you to. Its exact words: “It is never safe to remain in a manufactured home during a high wind event,” which covers tropical storms, hurricanes, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Florida law also ties your home’s installation to your insurance. Under section 320.8325 of the Florida Statutes, a mobile or manufactured home must be installed on a permanent foundation that resists wind, flood, flotation, overturning, sliding and lateral movement, and an insurer licensed to write windstorm coverage may write it only on a home installed under those rules. Anchoring is not just a safety item. It is part of what keeps you insurable.
Before the season: June 1 to November 30
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. Do these in the spring, while contractors still have open calendars:
- Check the tie-downs and anchors. Straps should be tight and straight, not slack or rusted through at the ground line. Anchors work loose in sandy Central Florida soil, and homes that settle out of level put uneven tension on the straps. If you are not sure what your home needs, see our guide to Florida tie-down requirements, or have the system inspected through our tie-down and anchor service page.
- Get the home level. A home that is out of level loads its straps unevenly and racks doors and windows, the openings wind gets through first. Seven signs your home needs releveling covers what to look for.
- Look at the roof. Loose seams, lifted edges and failed coating are where wind starts peeling. Fix them before June, not in August. If patches no longer hold, read about mobile home roof-overs.
- Repair the skirting. Loose skirting panels become flying debris and let wind under the home. See skirting repair and replacement.
- Plan for the openings. FDEM calls protecting the areas where wind can enter (windows, doors, vents) the single most important way to reduce damage. Decide now whether you will use shutters or pre-cut panels, and store the hardware where you can find it.
- Review your insurance. Read your declarations page for the windstorm deductible (often a percentage of the dwelling coverage, not a flat dollar amount), and check whether you have flood coverage. Standard homeowner policies do not cover flood. Our Florida mobile home insurance guide covers deductibles, flood and the 4-point inspection many insurers ask for.
- Find your zone and your destination. Look up your evacuation zone at floridadisaster.org/knowyourzone. Then pick a real destination: a friend or relative in a site-built home outside the danger area, a hotel inland, or the nearest public shelter. Write down two routes.
- Gather your documents. Put the title or registration, insurance policy, lot lease (if you rent your lot), IDs, prescriptions and a list of medications in a waterproof bag you can grab.
- Buy supplies tax-free. Florida made many disaster-preparedness sales tax exemptions permanent in 2025, so there is no special holiday to wait for. Items such as batteries, certain portable generators, and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are exempt year-round. Check the Florida Department of Revenue list before you shop, because some items that used to qualify (flashlights, candles and coolers among them) were dropped.
When a storm is coming (72 to 24 hours out)
- Watch your county, not just the national forecast. Evacuation orders are issued county by county. In Polk County, for example, the county says it has no standing mandatory-evacuation policy, but it has ordered or urged mobile-home residents to leave before specific storms (Hurricane Irma in 2017, Hurricane Milton in 2024). Polk’s advice is to plan to leave 48 to 72 hours before landfall. Polk residents can call the Citizens Information Line at (863) 298-7500.
- Photograph everything. Walk around the outside and through every room, recording the roof, skirting, straps, steps and contents. Date-stamped photos are the best evidence you will have for a claim.
- Secure the outside. Bring in or tie down chairs, grills, potted plants, trash cans and anything that can fly. Lower antennas and satellite dishes if you can do it safely.
- Close up the openings. Put up shutters or panels, close all interior doors, and secure loose items inside.
- Shut off what you can. If you are leaving, turn off the main breaker and, for a home on propane, close the tank valve.
- Leave early. Do not ride it out. FEMA gives the residents of its own temporary manufactured housing units the same instruction: never take shelter in one during high winds, a tornado, a hurricane or a flood.
After the storm
- Wait for the all-clear before going home. Downed lines and flooded roads injure more people after a storm than during it.
- Do not go under the home if it has shifted, tilted or come off its piers. A home that has moved can drop. Have it checked first.
- Document the damage with photos from the same angles as your before-photos, and make temporary repairs (tarps, boarding) only to prevent further damage. Keep every receipt.
- Report the claim promptly. Florida law (s. 627.70132) gives you one year from the date of loss to give notice of a new property insurance claim, and for a hurricane the date of loss is the date it made landfall. Report sooner than that: early claims get adjusters first.
- Check FEMA assistance if your county is in a federal disaster declaration (disasterassistance.gov). Insurance pays first, and FEMA can help with gaps.
- Hire carefully. Storm-chasing contractors show up within days. Verify any license at myfloridalicense.com before you sign or pay a deposit. Under s. 489.127(2)(c), contracting without a license during a declared state of emergency is a third-degree felony in Florida, so a real contractor will show you a license number without hesitation.
- Re-check the anchoring and level even if the home looks fine. Storms shift soil and loosen straps you cannot see. Our leveling service page and the leveling cost guide explain what a post-storm check involves.
The printable short version
| When | Do this |
|---|---|
| Spring | Tie-downs checked, home level, roof sealed, skirting fixed, shutters ready, insurance reviewed |
| Any time | Know your zone; pick a destination and two routes; documents in a waterproof bag |
| 72 hours out | Follow county orders; photograph the home; buy last supplies |
| 48 hours out | Secure the yard; close up openings; leave |
| After | All-clear first; photos; claim within 1 year of landfall; verify contractor licenses |
Frequently asked questions
Should I stay in my mobile home during a hurricane?
No. The Florida Division of Emergency Management says it is never safe to remain in a manufactured home during a high-wind event, and FEMA tells residents of its temporary manufactured housing units the same thing. Go to a site-built home outside the danger area, a hotel, or a public shelter.
Do I have to evacuate if my county has not ordered it?
Orders are issued county by county and storm by storm. Some counties, such as Polk, have no standing mandatory policy but have urged or ordered mobile-home residents to leave before specific storms. Plan to leave 48 to 72 hours before landfall whether or not an order is issued.
How long do I have to file a hurricane insurance claim in Florida?
Under section 627.70132 of the Florida Statutes, notice of a new property insurance claim must be given within one year after the date of loss, and for a hurricane the date of loss is the date it made landfall. Report it as soon as you can.
Why do tie-downs matter for insurance?
Section 320.8325 of the Florida Statutes says an insurer licensed to write windstorm coverage may write it only on a mobile home installed under the state’s installation rules, which require a foundation that resists wind, overturning, sliding and lateral movement. Worn or missing anchors can put that coverage at risk.
Is there a hurricane sales tax holiday in Florida in 2026?
No separate holiday is needed. Florida made many disaster-preparedness sales tax exemptions permanent in 2025, so items such as batteries, certain generators and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are tax-free year-round. Check the Florida Department of Revenue’s list, because some items were dropped.
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