Nunez Community College Recovers with Help from FEMA 

Release Date: August 29, 2007
Release Number: 1603-700

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NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina inundated Nunez Community College with up to eight feet of flood waters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is committed to restoring the Chalmette campus back to its original, pre-flooded condition.

FEMA has paid to rebuild the school's Arts & Café Building, which is home to the college's culinary arts program. Hurricane-generated damages were severe enough that the entire structure had to be replaced. The new facility is still in the design phase and construction has not begun, but fall classes are being held in a temporary facility funded by FEMA.

Nunez's Institutional Advancement Executive Director Teresa Smith said the new building will utilize some of the finest culinary equipment, which students are currently using in the temporary trailers.

"It's going to be a tremendous resource for our students," she said of the new building.

The St. Bernard Parish campus flooded after Lake Borgne overflowed and the nearby levees failed. Water submerged the ground floor of every building. The college, which had more than 2,300 students before the storm, reopened Jan. 25, 2006, just five months after Hurricane Katrina.

More than $1.4 million was obligated by FEMA for the Arts & Café classrooms. To date, more than $21.2 million has been obligated for recovery efforts at Nunez Community College. In addition to the Arts & Café classrooms, 16 other campus buildings are eligible either for replacement or repairs.

When projects are obligated by FEMA through its supplemental Public Assistance grant, the funds are transferred to a Smartlink account. This allows the applicant, in this case the State of Louisiana's Facility, Planning and Control, to work with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness as quickly as possible to access the reimbursement monies. The state may require additional documentation from the applicant before disbursing the funds. Obligated funds may change over time as the project worksheet is a living grant that is often adjusted as bids come in and scope of work is aligned.

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 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, 29-Aug-2007 10:44:01