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July 17, 2007
LA-1603-07-07-661
Media Contact:
504-762-2477
NEW ORLEANS —
The Federal
Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA)
recently approved
funding to retrofit
the St. James Parish
Courthouse in
Vacherie with wind
resistant shutters
and/or impact
resistant windows.
The courthouse
provides offices for
the district
attorney, state
judges, clerk of
court, sheriff,
assessor, parish
president, registrar
of voters and
several other state
and local government
offices. Currently,
the building does
not have covered
windows and is
therefore vulnerable
to future damage
from high wind
events.
FEMA’s Hazard
Mitigation Grant
Program (HMGP)
allocated $172,569
to shield the St.
James Parish
Courthouse against
wind-related
hazards. The new
shutters will
protect the building
and government
offices as well as
the documents and
supplies it houses.
This safeguard will
ensure quick and
proper response
after a catastrophe.
"Once completed,
the various agencies
will be able to
operate during and
after a storm, thus
providing much
needed services to
our residents," said
St. James Parish
President Dale J.
Hymel, Jr.
HMGP funds are
used to make
improvements to
public or private
property. To be
eligible, a project
must provide a
long-term solution
to a specific risk.
The HMGP 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.
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