FEMA Presents its Publication Detailing the History of Building Elevation in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS – Federal Emergency Management Agency historic preservation specialists will discuss the recent publication, The History of Building Elevation in New Orleans, on Monday, July 29, 2013, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Rosa F. Keller Library & Community Center, 4300 South Broad Street in New Orleans’ Broadmoor neighborhood. 

“Home and building elevations are a part of New Orleans’ history, dating back to the founding of the city; however, until now, very little has been written about it,” said FEMA Louisiana Recovery Office Executive Director Mike Womack. “Following Hurricane Katrina, FEMA has worked with the state and city to comply with federal historic preservation laws while protecting their residents by elevating above floodwaters. As part of the process, The History of Building Elevation in New Orleans was created.”

FEMA produced this book to offset effects to historic properties caused by FEMA-funded grants as required by the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106. All federally funded projects must follow these regulations under NHPA as well as other environmental laws and executive orders.

Written and produced by URS Group in close collaboration with FEMA historic preservation staff and the Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office, the book lays out a broad historical perspective on the topic of elevation from its inception in the city of New Orleans to present day.

Local collections and archives were instrumental in the development of this book, including the New Orleans Public Library and Archives, the Historic New Orleans Collection and the Louisiana State Museum and Archives. Additionally, long-time New Orleans elevation businesses provided information not available elsewhere.

An electronic version of the book is available at www.fema.gov/latro under Program Updates.

Editors: For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/latro. Follow FEMA online at www.twitter.com/femalro, blog.fema.gov, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.            

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

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FEMA Presents its Publication Detailing the History of Building Elevation in New Orleans

Disaster Recovery Centers in Somerset County to Close, But Assistance Is Still Available

HUNT VALLEY, Md. – The Disaster Recovery Center operating in Crisfield will close at 5 p.m. Friday, January 18.

Those affected by the disaster that still have questions about assistance or low-interest disaster loans can call the toll-free application line – 1-800-621-FEMA or TTY 1-800-462-7585. For more information about this disaster, go to www.fema.gov/disaster/4091, or www.sba.gov/sandy.

Somerset County residents affected by Hurricane Sandy also can apply for federal assistance through a web-enabled mobile device or smartphone. Visit m.fema.gov and follow the link to apply online for federal assistance and other recovery help.

“At this stage of the recovery process, the emphasis for assistance is to meet the long-term needs of victims,” Ken Mallette, Executive Director, Maryland Emergency Management Agency, said. 

Federal Coordinating Officer Michael Lapinski of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also noted that “Help with questions on federal and state disaster assistance is just a phone call away.  Operators at the FEMA toll-free number are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help with many of the questions that were brought to us at the recovery centers. We will also have community relations specialists who will remain available in Somerset County to offer advice with registration and submitting paperwork.”

Since the Disaster Recovery Center opened on December 18 in Crisfield, more than 1,100 homeowners, renters, and business owners have visited one of the centers. The temporary centers were established to provide detailed program information to those who have already applied for assistance. In addition to FEMA human services personnel and SBA loan officers, disaster recovery specialists staff the centers to answer questions and provide information on recovery, restoration and rebuilding.

February 12 is the deadline to apply for assistance. There are two easy ways to begin the application process.  You may call FEMA’s toll-free number, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), TTY 1-800-462-7585.  Both numbers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week until further notice, and multilingual operators are also available to answer your call. Residents with Internet access now have the option to register on the agency’s website at www.disasterassistance.gov where valuable recovery information is also available.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

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Disaster Recovery Centers in Somerset County to Close, But Assistance Is Still Available

FEMA Provides Millions More to Restore the City of New Orleans’ Municipal Auditorium

NEW ORLEANS – The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the city of New Orleans recently announced more than $3.5 million in additional recovery aid to restore the city’s Municipal Auditorium, which was damaged during Hurricane Katrina. 

As a component of the New Orleans Cultural Center, located alongside the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in Louis Armstrong Park, the Morris F.X. Jeff Sr. Municipal Auditorium, as it’s formally called, served pre-Katrina as a public facility with a 6,000-seat capacity to host civic events.

“The Municipal Auditorium has been an important New Orleans landmark with a rich cultural history for decades,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. “These federal recovery dollars are an encouraging step forward and will supplement the money FEMA has already allocated. We are making progress every day and will continue to work with FEMA to identify new eligible funding for this storm-damaged building so that we can one day get it back into commerce. FEMA continues to be an important partner in our recovery from Hurricane Katrina.”

In recovery partnership with the city of New Orleans, FEMA Public Assistance staffers recently re-evaluated the eligible damages at the Municipal Auditorium and determined the additional funding was necessary to support disaster-related roof damages not previously taken into account. Likewise, the current funding also covers determined architectural finishes that will require asbestos abatement and remediation of disaster-impacted lead-based paint.

“Regarding roof damages, FEMA’s earlier site visits were limited to visual observations of damages, but more recent investigations with the city included roof sampling and the use of technology-based moisture surveys to best identify Katrina’s overall impact,” said FEMA’s Louisiana Recovery Office Acting Executive Director

Andre Cadogan. “As a result, the total area of damaged roofing was increased to approximately 110,000 square feet, which FEMA’s most recent funding encompasses.”   

FEMA’s previous funding addressed architectural damages in the Municipal Auditorium’s basement through fifth floors, excluding damages attributed to mold, asbestos and lead paint.

“In order for the city to move forward safely with these repairs, recent site investigations also focused on identifying architectural areas where damage to lead-based paint and asbestos materials had occurred. These findings are now represented in our recent grant and will enable the city to move this recovery project along as needed,” added Cadogan.

To date, FEMA has obligated approximately $6.4 billion in public assistance funding for Katrina and Rita related recovery work throughout the city of New Orleans.

Editors: For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/latro.

Follow FEMA online at www.twitter.com/femalro, blog.fema.gov, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.      

When FEMA approves projects through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are made available to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, who disburses them to the applicant for eligible work completed. 

The Public Assistance program works with state and local officials to fund recovery measures and the rebuilding of government and certain private nonprofit organizations’ buildings, as well as roads, bridges and water and sewer plants. In order for the process to be successful, federal, state and local partners coordinate to draw up project plans, fund these projects and oversee their completion.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

This article: 

FEMA Provides Millions More to Restore the City of New Orleans’ Municipal Auditorium

Louisiana – Seven Years After Hurricanes Katrina And Rita

Beyond Recovery; Building Resilient Communities

NEW ORLEANS – In support of Louisiana’s recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided approximately $19.1 billion over the past seven years to help communities and families throughout the state rebuild and improve their capabilities to protect against future hazards.

“Since 2005, FEMA has remained committed to this state’s post-Katrina recovery. The Louisiana that we celebrate today with our local and state partners represents the ‘whole community’ and the progress than can occur when people work together,” said FEMA’s Louisiana Recovery Office Executive Director Joseph Threat.

To assist in rebuilding disaster-damaged public infrastructure, FEMA’s Public Assistance Program has provided approximately $11.5 billion for the restoration of roughly 23,669 Katrina and Rita recovery projects throughout Louisiana. Such FEMA aid has enabled significant impacts across various public sectors, including approximately:

  • $3.9 billion for education and learning facilities
  • $1.1 billion for public safety facilities
  • $5.4 billion for general infrastructure (e.g., roads, transportation, parks and sewerage and water facilities)
  • $1.1 billion for health care facilities 

“This unprecedented level of progress has contributed to a recent recovery milestone – the opening of FEMA’s Region 6 Baton Rouge Processing Center. As part of the normal disaster recovery cycle, the opening of this processing center will further assist Louisiana in her final stage of recovery. For hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the center’s current focus is supporting state efforts to finalize remaining hazard mitigation projects,” added Threat. 

FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program services individuals and public entities impacted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita by providing grants to communities and state agencies for projects that are designed to save lives and protect properties. Specifically, in response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, FEMA has made more than $1.8 billion in HMGP funding available to the state of Louisiana.

Regarding individuals and families, after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, hundreds of thousands of Louisiana residents needed help rebuilding their lives. To aid these residents, FEMA provided approximately $5.8 billion in Individuals and Households Program grants to 915,884 individuals and families statewide. These dollars were used as housing assistance for rent, repairs and replacement housing, as well as other needs assistance for such things as furniture, clothing and replacement vehicles.

FEMA also housed more than 92,000 households in travel trailers, park models and mobile homes across Louisiana to combat the largest housing shortage ever seen in the agency’s history. Units were located on private properties, at industrial sites, in commercial mobile home parks and across 111 FEMA built and maintained group sites throughout the state.

“Another major recovery milestone was reached this year when, in July, the last FEMA temporary housing unit was removed from this state, marking the first time since 2005 that there have been no FEMA temporary housing units in Louisiana. This means thousands of families once devastated by Katrina are now living in more permanent housing,” said Threat.

For more information about Louisiana’s ongoing recovery efforts, visit FEMA’s website dedicated to the seventh anniversary of hurricanes Katrina and Rita: www.fema.gov/la7year .

All data is as of Aug. 9, 2012.                                                                                                                           

When FEMA approves projects through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are made available to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, who disburses them to the applicant for eligible work completed.

The Public Assistance program works with state and local officials to fund recovery measures and the rebuilding of government and certain private nonprofit organizations’ buildings, as well as roads, bridges and water and sewer plants. In order for the process to be successful, federal, state and local partners coordinate to draw up project plans, fund these projects and oversee their completion.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Excerpt from: 

Louisiana – Seven Years After Hurricanes Katrina And Rita

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