Pecan Island Homeowner Reaps Benefits Of Mitigation 

Release Date: October 11, 2008
Release Number: 1786-065

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BATON ROUGE, La. -- Whalen Bertrand has seen quite a few hurricanes in his 68 years. Living in coastal Louisiana, in the town of Pecan Island, he's been through hurricanes Audrey, Rita and most recently Ike. Hurricanes have come and gone, but Bertrand's home has literally weathered the storm. Built in the late eighties, he made the decision to elevate his home to mitigate potential loss from future disasters. Today, his home is a mitigation success story.

Bertrand learned his lesson early. Hurricane Audrey took his boyhood home off of its pilings and drifted it nearly a mile down the road into the marsh. When it came time to build his current home, he knew he would elevate it. Sitting 13 feet above sea level, his four bedroom residence has become a shelter from the storm.  Hurricane Rita did little damage to his home.

"I lost my steps, and my son's trailer came loose and broke a piling on my home," Bertrand said. That was the only real damage he suffered.

"Whalen Bertrand's home stands as a testament of good mitigation practices," said Robert Picarazzi, Hazard Mitigation Chief for the Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office. "We want people to learn from him and not only elevate their homes where appropriate, but also install hurricane shutters and windows as additional means of protecting their homes."

Having suffered minor damage from Hurricane Rita, Bertrand remained in his home as Hurricane Ike came ashore. The water rose four feet, but thanks to elevation efforts, his home did not flood nor suffer any wind damage. Unfortunately, others in his community who did not live in elevated homes did not fare as well. 

According to Vermilion Parish Homeland Security Emergency Preparedness Director Rebecca Broussard, an early survey of the area, which did not include the entire parish, revealed 498 homes were inundated by Hurricane Ike's flood waters.

FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 15-Oct-2008 16:47:37