Mitigation is the Best Offense
Release Date: August 17, 2006
Release Number: 1604-420
» More Information on Mississippi Hurricane Katrina
BILOXI, Miss. -- Some of the best applications of the old adage, "The best offense is a good defense," are the mitigation programs provided through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) .
"Our mission includes protecting lives and preventing property loss from natural hazard events such as Hurricane Katrina," said Nick Russo, federal coordinating officer for the Mississippi disaster recovery . "Through our partnership with MEMA we are helping Mississippi and its communities reduce their risks through mitigation planning, floodplain management, sound building practices and other activities."
Approximately $429 million is slated to be allocated to Mississippi by FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). Distributed by MEMA, the purpose of these hazard mitigation funds is to take actions to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards and their effects. Project types include elevation and mitigation of existing homes, wind retrofitting of facilities, property acquisition, mitigation planning, mitigated reconstruction, and safe room installation.
Another $15 million will go to manage 24 contracts to gather information used in an assessment of hazards and outreach education in support of the Advisory Base Flood Elevation (ABFE) maps, along with the study of wind, water and environmental impacts resulting from a storm of Katrina's historic size and devastation.
Since Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast a year ago, FEMA has helped thousands of Mississippians in their recovery through its National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Nearly 19,000 flood insurance claims have been submitted to NFIP and more than $2.4 billion paid out to state residents. There are nearly 27,000 new policies in Mississippi , an increase of 62 percent since Katrina.
FEMA's experts have worked closely with local elected officials and, to date, eight coastal communities have adopted a version of higher elevation standards based on the (ABFE) standards, which are the best current recommendations from FEMA for rebuilding. These experts also have trained Mississippi insurance agents about the benefits of NFIP coverage, resulting in a growth of policy holders significant enough to place Mississippi in the top five NFIP participants nationally.
FEMA's operations center in Biloxi also hosts the national call center for NFIP issues, and has handled over 6,000 requests for assistance since it opened in Oct. 2005.
The Mitigation Division also has been integral in the state's recovery. Its Community Education Office staffed 34 Disaster Recovery Centers, two mobile disaster recovery centers which covered 17 locations in Mississippi and made 45 advisors available to disaster victims. More than 195 mitigation applicants received assistance.
Outreach workers provided guidance at 28 sites at the peak of the recovery effort and at 30 stand alone locations, counseling more than 155,000 disaster victims.
A recent congressionally mandated study for FEMA revealed that mitigation overall saves society an average of $4 for every dollar spent. Such defensive, preventative mitigation measures learned and implemented by Mississippians will contribute to a national floodplain management that saves taxpayers an estimated $1.1 billion per year by preventing flood damages.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Friday, 18-Aug-2006 14:19:09