FEMA Announces 2008 Contributions to Louisiana's Recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
2008 brings nearly $2.04 billion in additional FEMA grants; 23,000 families move to more permanent housing
Release Date: December 19, 2008
Release Number: 1603-823
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NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Great strides were made in 2008 to further along Louisiana's recovery efforts from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, from $2.04 billion in additional federal funding to more than 23,000 families moving out of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) temporary housing.
To date, the agency's overall federal assistance for hurricanes Katrina and Rita in Louisiana totals more than $13.7 billion in individual assistance, public assistance and hazard mitigation grants. Over this past year alone, the nearly $2.04 billion in additional federal grants equates to an average of $5.6 million per day throughout 2008.
"We are extraordinarily pleased to be making this large of an impact on a daily basis in Louisiana," said Jim Stark, director of FEMA's Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office. "This past year has shown significant growth in recovery efforts, from the increase in funding to the groundbreakings and completion of projects. One of the most noteworthy accomplishments, though, has been the more than 23,000 families who have moved out of FEMA temporary housing and into more suitable, functional and safe housing."
In addition, of the nearly 92,000 families housed in travel trailers and mobile homes at the peak of the disaster, 29,166 remained at the end of 2007. This past year, another 23,334 were able to move on to a more permanent housing solution through utilizing the multiple resources offered by FEMA. These include caseworkers assisting residents on a one-on-one basis, rental and relocation assistance, a rental resources department that searches for available and affordable housing statewide, and referrals to voluntary agencies for help with getting furniture, utility assistance and clothing.
An additional resource is the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP), funded by FEMA and managed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. DHAP provides short term rental assistance and case management services for Katrina and Rita victims, and now Gustav and Ike victims.
The Public Assistance grants program provides federal dollars for projects such as emergency response and recovery, debris removal, roads and bridges, utilities and public buildings. In the past year alone, the amount of eligible Public Assistance dollars has increased more than $1.7 billion, bringing the total to $7.3 billion.
The more noticeable public assistance accomplishments can be seen throughout hard hit areas such as Orleans, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, St. Tammany and Jefferson parishes. Funding for recovery projects in these five parishes alone totals over $4.8 billion, nearly 66 percent of the overall total. Examples of some of the many projects completed or reopening soon throughout these five parishes are the Mahalia Jackson Theater in New Orleans, the St. Bernard Civic Center Ballroom, Boothville/Venice High School in Plaquemines, Archbishop Hannan High School in St. Tammany and the Belle Terre Library in Jefferson Parish.
In addition to recovery efforts from Katrina and Rita, FEMA continues to prepare for possible future disasters by providing hazard mitigation grants to implement long-term solutions for protecting lives and property. There is a potential of $1.47 billion in funding that FEMA has set aside for hazard mitigation projects in Louisiana. Mitigation projects are chosen by the state, approved by FEMA and include such actions as elevating houses or public buildings to safer levels, acquiring repetitive flood loss properties to be used as green space, creating a redundancy system for critical records and public documents, or adding hurricane shutters to government buildings.
At the end of 2007, $73 million had been approved in hazard mitigation funding to the state. This number has increased over the past year to $309.8 million. Of the 239 projects submitted to FEMA by the state to date, 192 have been approved and an additional 42 projects are currently in review.
FEMA's commitment to Louisiana remains strong and is evident by the approximately 1,200 employees we have in Louisiana. Additionally, we continue to work with volunteer agencies to identify disaster victims with unmet needs and refer them to the services provided by these volunteers. We continue to be a strong partner to the state and to look for innovative ways in which we can work together to streamline recovery at all levels of government and maximize FEMA assistance.
Unless otherwise noted, the above figures were compiled as of Dec. 12, 2008.
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: Friday, 19-Dec-2008 11:22:02