[StBernard] Flood guidelines set

[Westley Annis]

Flood guidelines set 

Residents must elevate homes at least 3 feet for insurance

By GERARD SHIELDS AND MARK BONNER
Advocate staff writers
Published: Apr 13, 2006

Most New Orleans homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina flooding must be raised
at least 3 feet to qualify for federal flood insurance, officials said
Wednesday.

The announcement came as officials lowered the cost of finishing the repairs
of crippled Louisiana levees to $4.1 billion - from $6 billion - and
President Bush pledged $2.5 billion toward the project.

That allowed the release of the much-anticipated federal flood advisories to
guide property owners on how or whether to rebuild their damaged structures.

"This will enable people to get on with their lives," said Donald Powell,
federal coordinator for Gulf Coast recovery.

The new advisories, which estimate flooding risks, are based on the
assumption that the repaired levees will hold if hit again by hurricanes.
Homes must meet the elevation  requirements to qualify for federal flood
insurance and government rebuilding money.

Cherie Melancon Franz, who owns a home in Lakeview, said her house was
already raised 4 feet on cinder blocks before Katrina.

"But it really didn't matter," Franz said. "My home still took 7 to 8 feet
of water when the levee broke."

Franz said that most people she knows who can afford to rebuild were already
planning to raise their homes 8 to 10 feet. Many, however, can't afford to
raise slab homes, which is expensive, she said.

Franz, living in Allen, Texas, said her family decided to tear down their
Milne Boulevard house a few months ago and plans to install a pre-fabricated
home on the empty lot this summer. She hopes to be back in New Orleans by
June.

Despite what some of her neighbors are doing, Franz said she will only raise
her home to meet the federal guidelines.

"I only want to be as high as they require, and if we flood again, that's
it," Franz said. "I think most of the neighborhood is the same way. If we
get 7 to 8 feet again, it just wouldn't be worth it."

Franz said she had questions about what the height requirements are based
on.

"I have mixed feelings about all of this," Franz said. "Are they basing this
off of rain flooding or the failure of the levees?"

Another Lakeview homeowner, Jerri Johnston, living in LaPlace, said many
people are confused by the language in the new federal regulations.

"They are saying 3 feet above grade," Johnston said. "I don't know if most
people know what grade means. Is that above the lot or the street? It looks
like most of us are going to have to have professional surveys done."

Her 1925 cypress bungalow on Rosemary Street was already raised 3&permil
feet above ground when 4&permil feet of levee water from the nearby 17th
Street Canal surged into her home.

But Johnston vows to be back in the city by the end of the year.

"Like a lot of people, I am raising my house 8 feet," she said. "I was never
waiting on FEMA to tell me what to do. All I had to do was look at my flood
line to let me know what I needed to do. I will be well above my watermark,
and if this happens again, I can pull up with a U-haul and get all my stuff.
I won't be throwing my stuff to the curb - that was way too devastating."

Though the new levee repair cost estimate and Bush's funding promise allowed
release of the advisories, many Louisiana officials called the proposal
unacceptable. The plan leaves unfunded $1.6 billion of work needed to
protect lower Plaquemines Parish.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said she would not remove the holds that she
placed on Bush political appointments - a move she made to protest the
president's levee plans - until she can get more specifics on the new
proposal. Officials are still not sure how Bush intends to ask Congress for
the money, she said.

Even loyal Bush supporters, such as U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Kenner, agreed
that the plan falls short.

"I think it's important that the administration ask for the entire $4.1
billion," Jindal said.

Bush should ask for the money in the supplemental spending bill before
Congress, Jindal said. In addition, the state should not be forced to pay
the traditional 35 percent match, about $900 million, because the levees
failed due to federal design and construction flaws, Jindal said.

No decision had been made about a state match, Powell said.

U.S. Rep. David Vitter, R-La., said while the proposal isn't ideal, it does
allow people to move forward with rebuilding.

U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, represents the most damaged area
and welcomed the flood advisories, noting that they do not restrict
rebuilding anywhere in New Orleans.

Powell said the levee plan would protect 98 percent of the New Orleans
metropolitan area. Left out would be about 15,000 residents in Plaquemines.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the area will be the subject of
further study.

State Sen. Walter Boasso, a Chalmette Republican who represents the area,
said the federal plan is shortsighted.

"It's not an issue of just the people, Boasso said. "You can move them out.
But you've got the oil and gas industry here, and that keeps the Mississippi
open."

On Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, commander of the corps, said that 36
miles of the 56 miles of levees would be braced.

About $1.6 billion will be spent to install much stronger T walls, which
amounts to placing an inverted T brace in the ground. The rest of the money
would go toward raising levees, Strock said.

The corps expects to have the levees at pre-Katrina levels by June 1, Strock
said. But it won't be until 2010 that the levees will be at desired levels,
he said.

  
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