Season of Mitigation
Lower 9th Ward Graffiti by John McQuaid.
In the gallactic view, hurricane protection depends on three layers; robust wetlands, levees adequate to the threat, and strong, elevated homes to protect against things that the first two layers miss.
Against this, we have the reality that the political will, from either party, is apparently not there to make the first two layers strong enough to protect against historic (Katrina was a 394-year flood) hazards let alone globally warmed future hazards. Instead the Bush administration, Congress and, more importantly the US Army Corps of Engineers has signed up for 100-year protection – period.
The implied message is – Katrina will never happen again. Some of us living behind cosmetically repaired flood walls have different views. We are trying to take steps to ensure our homes are safe but many others are not and leadership is keeping its mouth shut when it comes to promoting a safe rebuilding vision. On top of that, the mediocracats at the State and FEMA have still, after 2.5 years, not released any of the funds we are entitled to receive to help us elevate.
The CAT 5 interim decision matrix, rumored to be due for another interim report, reaffirms that at present, the Corps of Engineers and the FEMA flood map makers are neither capable nor mature enough to protect Americans where ever they are threatened by natural disasters. This will inevitably lead to man-made catastrophes and must be countered with citizen and citizen-facing public servants calling for and enabling citizens to raise their homes safely and responsible
This view is supported by a recent Corps Individual Environmental Review (IER 11) which dismissed things like evelation as a component of any 100 year solution at the same time the Feds and the state are making long overdue plans help returing residents to elevate their homes to more or less safe levels. The Corps is so narrowly focused on building their “stuff” that they’ve lost sight of the citizen-statkeholder they are chartered to protect. Because those stakeholders are so unimportant they’ve failed to appreciate all the other things that residents are involved with such as compensation and mitigation grant programs.
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K.C.
Where do things stand with the elevation grants now? If I wanted a primer on the details of the issue where would I look?
I know that this is holding up the recovery, since you can’t elevate your home after you gut and rebuild, or if you do, if will cost much more to do.
Alan
Where do things stand with the elevation grants now?
On February 22nd, the state announce new developments in programs to rebuilding safer by elevating houses to safe levels.
From the FAQ at http://www.road2la.org/homeowner/faqs.htm#9 I think there will be two grants. 1) Road Home Elevation Grants are $30K for all qualified Road Home applicants in flood zones and 2) State Hazard Mitigation Grants based on authorized reimbursable costs less other (ICC, Road Home Elevation grants) duplicate benefits
The first program should pay out starting in April and extending to “early” summer. The second program has not been defined yet nor has an RFP been let. Read as later this year or next.
Good news is that the Road Home program couldn’t be simpler and it is certainly generous.
Not so good news is that you won’t know the total amount you have to spend on elevation for some time. This is, at best, a horibly confusing framework in which to make a decision. One sensible course might be to plan to
elevate your rebuilt or rennovated structure but don’t execute the plan until after you have all the money committed. If you can’t get planning and
permitting done to elevate by March 15, stop and wait.
Other not so good news from a safety perspective is that neither purchasers nor sellers can get the Road Home $30K. In this respect the program ignores the need for anyone in a flood zone to rebuild safely regardless of when
they purchased – Not good.
Like most FAQs that weren’t really started by a dialog between service providers and their stakeholders, this one raises more questions and opens more issues than it answers.
Is the Road Home Elevation Program RHEP about compensation or safety? If its about safety why are purchasers of Road Home properties included?
What ever happened to the $7,500 every one, including both flood and wind victims, were supposed to get? Will that be in the State’s Hazard Mitigation Program?
What will be the impact on short, medium and long term recovery and safety of having to wait for the State’s program if you don’t start before March 16th?
What will happen when the new flood maps are published? Will that redefine flood areas to include Katrina high water marks? If not, why not?
KC King
K.C.
I would like to continue to talk about elevation at Think New Orleans. I’d greatly appreciate your help in continuing this conversation. Here are my strategies.
Using the Wiki, I’d like to create some pages regarding elevation.
I’d like to create some persuasive maps that people can use to inform themselves about elevation.
I’d like to continue to publish articles about elevation.
Can you work with me? The very first task is to name the project or category.
Is it simply “Elevation” or is it “Base Flood Elevation”? Or is it something else.
Alan
Alan
Let’s do it. I’ve emailed you with some other information and charts I’m using to get the message across.
Some other titles might be “Rebuilding Safe”, “Smart Mitigation”
By the way, I like the phrase “We were inundated” the levees broke after the storm passed – therefore no flood
I’m attaching some studies I’ve done for my neighbor hood Vista Park and some other materials.
On the item about abject failure, the fact that for every home that was elevated 6.6 were renovated at grade points to the failure of the state (and its Federal partners) to achieve its rebuild safe commitments. Did Powell jump or was he pushed for this failure?
Let me know where you want me to help. I’m working with the ?Dr. Shirley Laska’s UNO Center for Hazard Assessment Response and Technology to promote safer building. This might a good connection for both them and yourself.
CHAT is also starting up a campaign to address the parts of the new Elevation program the state got wrong as well as promote accelerating the non-flood “individual mitigation measures” that have always been part of Road Home but are being left until the end of the year. This latter issue is the new and innovative “Louisiana method” of recovering a inundation-ravaged population – always keep ‘em guessing about how much that have to rebuild with and spread payments out over 3.5 years. Brilliant!
K.C.
Something seems to be not working here. I have not gotten around to processing this project. Problem: I really want this project to start up.
While we sort out what to call all this, I’ve created a page called Hazard Mitigation Grant Program on the Wiki. I know we will have a page called Hazard Mitigation Grant Program on the WIki for the long haul. It is probably not the right place for Hazard Mitigation as a concept, but I know so little about the concept, I don’t know how to help organize.
So, I’ll start there.
http://page.thinknola.com/wiki/show/Hazard+Mitigation+Grant+Program
Also, I saw that your PDF is basically a Google Map.
Where is that Google Map? I’ll embed it in the page.
K.C.
Where is that Google Map. We should embed it at the Wiki artilce. Did you created with Google Maps or with Google Earth? (And why weren’t you at GIS Coworking?)