BILOXI, Miss. — As part of an innovative agreement between federal, state, local and tribal officials, 29 historic properties lost during Katrina have been commemorated with cast aluminum markers.

“We thought it especially important to have sketches of the destroyed buildings on the markers,” said Kenneth P’Pool, deputy state historic preservation officer of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. “It gives people an appreciation of what was lost. Some of these illustrations are the last examples of architectural styles on the Coast.”

The wooden Church of the Redeemer was a prime example of the Carpenter Gothic style. The engraving of a bell tower in front of it depicts one from a newer church built in 1891. The bell tower was the only part of that structure to survive Hurricane Camille in 1969.

It is a challenge for communities to protect historic properties during and after a disaster. They need to protect the health and safety of citizens – for example, by removing large amounts of disaster debris in a timely manner – while preserving the integrity of a historic site.

The National Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to consider the effects their projects may have on historic properties. The agencies must review background information and consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and other knowledgeable sources. In many cases, further surveys and studies are needed to make a final determination on how or if to proceed. The review process can take several weeks—even months, which may not be in the interest of public safety.

To expedite removal of massive amounts of debris after Hurricane Katrina for public health and safety, FEMA entered into an agreement with several agencies to streamline the process. Partners included the Mississippi State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO); Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI); Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) and Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).

Using GPS data, FEMA’s Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation program surveyed historic districts, properties and archaeological sites in the lower Mississippi counties most affected by Katrina and created a database that will help emergency management officials in future disasters.

They also updated listings for the National Register of Historic Places, and found 58 archaeological sites that had not previously been identified.

“So much damage was done by Katrina that there was a great need to clean up the debris, but little time to enter into the proper consultation required by the National Historic Preservation Act,” said P’Pool.

“We now have a much better handle on the numbers, locations and types of historic properties and

where they’re distributed around the Gulf Coast. Having that knowledge provides us with an opportunity to make a much more rapid response in assessing damage to specific historic properties in the future.”

“It’s very rewarding to be part of an agreement that can be used as a model for other states,” said Cyril Baxter Mann, deputy environmental liaison officer for FEMA’s Historic Preservation program.

For its work after Katrina, FEMA received the Chairman’s Award for Federal Achievement from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, in coordination with SHPO and other partners, for its innovative effort in creating the digitized database of historic properties.

In addition, for the Katrina recovery, FEMA’s EHP program reviewed more than 17,000 recovery projects for potential environmental and historic preservation issues. It also reviewed more than 13,000 Hazard Mitigation Grant Program applications for placement of in-ground shelters.

For more information on this agreement and FEMA archaeological specialists at work: view this video.

 

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 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 Helps Mississippi Preserve Important Architectural Properties

WASHINGTON – Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched a new data visualization tool that enables users to see when and where disaster declarations have occurred across the country. As hurricane season kicks off, the tool helps provide important information about the history of hurricanes and other disasters in their communities and what residents can do to prepare.

The data visualization tool is accessible at fema.gov/data-visualization and allows users to view and interact with a wide array of FEMA data. Through an interactive platform, users can view the history of disaster declarations by hazard type or year and the financial support provided to states, tribes and territories, and access public datasets for further research and analysis. On the site, you can see compelling visual representations of federal grant data as it relates to fire, preparedness, mitigation, individual assistance and public assistance.

“We have a wealth of data that can be of great use to the public,” said FEMA’s Deputy Administrator of Protection and National Preparedness Tim Manning. “By providing this information in a way that is visual and easy to understand, people will be moved to action to prepare their families and communities.”

The data visualization tool builds on FEMA’s commitment to transparency by making it easy to convert historical data – already available via the OpenFEMA initiative – into a readable and interactive map. Users can see the types of disasters that have occurred in their community and FEMA’s support to build and sustain the capabilities needed to prevent, protect, mitigate against, respond to, and recover from those threats and hazards in the future. The tool also provides ways for users to take action to prepare for future disasters by supporting community preparedness planning, providing information on individual preparedness actions people can take, or joining a local Citizen Corps program.

FEMA encourages all individuals to interact with the tool, learn more about the emergency management process, and provide feedback. FEMA will continue to develop additional visualizations based on feedback and the availability of public data.

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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.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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FEMA Launches New Data Visualization Tool

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

Texas Hurricane History Demonstrates Need to Prepare For Upcoming Season 

Release Date: May 30, 2012
Release Number: R6-12-101

» 2012 Region VI News Releases

DENTON, Texas — Fourteen hurricanes and six tropical storms since 1961, which resulted in federal disaster declarations, serve as reminders to Texans that now is the time to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.

The 2012 Hurricane Season begins on June 1, and while experts are predicting a slower season than in past years, most of the predictions still call for at least a normal amount of activity. The 50 year average is a little over 11 named storms, six of those becoming hurricanes and two becoming major ones – Category 3 or higher.

In the last 50 years, Texas has had 20 storms that resulted in federal declarations. Fourteen were hurricanes and six were tropical storms. The hurricanes were Carla (1961), Cindy (1963), Beulah (1967), Celia (1970), Allen (1980), Alicia (1983), Gilbert (1988), Bret (1999), Claudette (2003), Katrina (2005 – Emergency), Rita (2005), Dolly (2008), Ike (2008) and Alex (2010). The tropical storms were Danielle (1980), Allison (1989), Charley (1998), Frances (1998), Fay (2002) and Erin (2007).

Six of the hurricanes and two of the tropical storms occurred in the last decade and resulted in the Lone Star State receiving approximately $7.5 billion in federal disaster aid. That assistance fell under both the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) and Individuals and Households (IHP) programs and included funding for direct housing, crisis counseling, disaster legal services, disaster unemployment, and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) low-interest disaster loans.

Hurricane Katrina in Texas was an emergency declaration and provided reimbursements to the state for housing Katrina evacuees.

There have been no hurricanes or tropical storms resulting in a FEMA disaster declaration in the past two years, but several storms have affected the state nonetheless. Tropical Storm Hermine in 2010 caused major inland flooding in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 stirred up winds that exacerbated a weekend wildfire in Bastrop County.

“These statistics more than demonstrate the need for all Texas to be prepared,” said Acting FEMA Region 6 Administrator Tony Robinson. “We say it often, but it’s the best way to get a clear message out there – Get a Kit, Make a Plan and Stay Informed.

For more information on the upcoming hurricane season, please visit www.ready.gov/hurricanes and www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare.

Volunteering is one way to be prepared to help others. Use VolunteerMatch to locate local Red Cross volunteer opportunities in your community. You can also visit www.citizencorps.gov for ways to help and be prepared.

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.

Last Modified: Thursday, 31-May-2012 10:57:43

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Texas Hurricane History Demonstrates Need to Prepare For Upcoming Season