Louisiana Recovery Authority director: Hurricane recovery entering

New Orleans CityBusiness, Aug 25, 2008

Toward public safety, FEMA has obligated more than $746.5 million for Louisiana justice projects and the repair and replacement of jails, courts and police departments.

Following Katrina and Rita, FEMA dedicated $3.5 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers to collect debris. When that mission assignment ended, FEMA Public Assistance made available more than $1.2 billion for the removal of 54.4 million cubic yards of rights of way, private property, demolition and marine debris.

FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Program, designed to help prevent future losses in disasters, has a potential $1.47 billion in funds set aside for hazard mitigation projects in Louisiana. These funds may be used to make buildings more resistant to storms. So far, FEMA has granted more than $258.2 million in hazard mitigation grant funding to the state for 161 projects. Working with Louisiana's Road Home Program, $96.9 million of that funding will help elevate nearly 3,000 homes devastated by Katrina and Rita. Those funds were obligated as a grant to the state's Office of Community Development and are the first in a series that will help finance elevating or reconstructing more than 20,000 flood-prone structures throughout Louisiana.

FEMA also awarded the state $30 million in hazard mitigation grant funding for a statewide program to supply parishes with emergency generators and associated equipment to keep critical facilities operable during and after a disaster.

FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program has paid out $13.3 billion in NFIP claims in Louisiana. In addition, newly revised preliminary digital flood insurance rate maps are being released for some parishes. The new maps will replace current maps, which are outdated.