WASHINGTON – FEMA will replace locks on as many as 118,000 trailers used by Gulf Coast hurricane victims after discovering the same key could open many of the mobile homes.
One locksmith cut only 50 different kinds of keys for the trailers it sold to FEMA, officials said Monday. That means, in a worst-case scenario, one key could be used to unlock up to 10 mobile homes in a park of 500 trailers.
FEMA officials said such a situation was unlikely, but they still began warning storm evacuees living in Louisiana and Mississippi trailer parks of the security risk.
It is unknown how many trailers will need to have their locks replaced, said FEMA spokesman Pat Philbin.
FEMA provided about 77,000 trailers for Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Louisiana, said state emergency management spokesman Mark Smith.
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