Damage of Storm Becomes Clear
Now we know why the residents of New Orleans need much more support from a financial POV. The Times-Picayune reports:
More than 90 percent of owner-occupied homes damaged by flooding from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are located in southeast Louisiana, estimates compiled by FEMA show, in figures that could bolster local officials’ efforts to lay claim to most of the federal aid sent to the state for a proposed buyout and renovation program.
The numbers also suggest that the $6.2 billion federal pot committed to the state could be enough to finance a limited buyout proposal unveiled Monday by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.
The plan, backed by most parish presidents and being negotiated with state and White House officials, targets mostly severely damaged homes and caps payoffs at $150,000. FEMA’s data show more than 101,000 damaged homes in the area would be eligible for such a program, but Nagin has said the region would seek a second plan for rentals or lesser-damaged homes left out of the initial plan.
Apart from offering a clearer picture of where the needs are, the new data also indicate that as many as a third of badly damaged households in the New Orleans area, or more than 34,000 homes, did not have flood insurance when Katrina hit despite being located in flood-prone zones.
Overall, the latest figures show more than 108,000 owner-occupied homes in Louisiana had "major or severe damage," defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as having taken on at least a foot of water. Of those, 93 percent were in one of five metro parishes: Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard and St. Tammany.
