Extreme Makeover Show Features Mitigated Structures 

Release Date: May 15, 2008
Release Number: 1603-790

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NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Extreme Makeover Home Edition Show wraps up its season May 18 in New Orleans with a two-hour show that will feature mitigation measures that reduce flood risk. Mitigation guards against future loss of lives and property.

“A primary goal in the post-disaster phase is to look for opportunities to reduce the risk to life and property from future disasters. One of the ways to do this is through building practices and mitigation projects, in this case, elevations. Raising structures reduces the chance the structures will flood again. An added bonus is flood insurance rates drop on these elevated buildings,” said Jim Stark, Acting Associate Deputy Director, Gulf Coast Recovery.

The ABC broadcast highlights a Westwego family who received an Extreme Makeover rebuild. A proposal from employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office will save on the family’s flood insurance for years to come.

“After we heard about the Extreme Makeover project, we spoke to the general contractor for the project. We told him that if he built or raised the structure higher than the minimum standards, that the homeowners could receive a discount on their flood insurance,” said Wayne Berggren, National Flood Insurance Program Group Supervisor. Berggren works at the Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office in New Orleans, in the mitigation section. “When we told the contractor about the savings, he was convinced that raising the house higher was the right thing to do.”

Berggren estimates that by elevating the home in Westwego to 1 foot above the base flood elevation (BFE) the homeowner saves more than $450 per year on their flood insurance. “Flood insurance drops to about $700 a year from $1,200 on this home,” he said.

Extreme Makeover also did work on a New Orleans church during the show’s visit. The church elevated 2 feet above the base flood elevation providing a savings of about $3,500 a year on its flood insurance policy. Flood insurance went from $4,900 annually to $1,400 a year.

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: Tuesday, 27-May-2008 10:30:25