NEW ORLEANS — The
Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA)
recently approved
funding for the New
Orleans Aviation Board
to develop a hazard
mitigation plan to
better protect the Louis
Armstrong International
Airport complex against
future storms,
hurricanes or other
potential disasters.
Money is allocated to
assess projects with
consideration to the
effects of hurricanes
Katrina and Rita and
with damage due to dam
or levee failure. The
airport experienced wind
and infrastructure
damage during the storms
and experienced
additional damage
because the facility was
used as an evacuation
point for over 30,000
citizens and as a main
command post for
military personnel
including the 82nd
Airborne.
Recommendations for
mitigation best
practices are also
included in the Aviation
Board’s plan to reduce
losses from future
disasters. Best
practices stories,
ideas, activities and
projects show how
individuals and
businesses have used
mitigation to
successfully protect
properties and reduce
financial losses.
Funding from this
$49,155
Hazard Mitigation grant
will be used to develop
a hazard mitigation plan
compliant with the
Disaster Mitigation Act
of 2000 (DMA 2000). DMA,
which was established by
Congress, emphasizes the
need for States and
communities to prepare
for possible disasters
by developing hazard
mitigation plans for
existing and future
buildings.
“This grant will provide
funding for a hazard
mitigation study that
will make
recommendations on ways
to harden our facilities
against potential storm
damage in the future.
It will help us to
ensure a stronger and
safer facility to
withstand future
storms,” stated Sean C.
Hunter, director of
aviation at Armstrong
International Airport.
As of July
2007,
Louis Armstrong
International Airport is
operating at 70 percent
of their pre-Katrina
status, measured by
airlines’ daily
seat-count (14,276 seats
offered today; 20,676
seats previously
offered). Seventy-six
percent of daily
roundtrip flights have
been restored.
The Hazard Mitigation
Grant Program provides
grants to states and
local governments to
implement long-term
hazard mitigation
measures after a major
disaster declaration, to
reduce the loss of life
and property due to
natural disasters and to
enable mitigation
measures to be
implemented during the
immediate recovery from
a disaster.
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.
