[StBernard] Times-Picayune editorial supports LRA call to combine Gustav, Ike

[Westley Annis]

Times-Picayune editorial supports LRA call to combine Gustav, Ike


>From time to time, the Louisiana Recovery Authority shares articles and opinion pieces about the recovery. Today's Times-Picayune editorial supports the LRA's call for FEMA to view hurricanes Gustav and Ike as one disaster for the purposes of repairing damages through the Public Assistance program. For more information about the LRA's request, click here 


<http://lra.louisiana.gov/action.cfm?md=emaillist&task=addMessageClickThru&msgid=26&uid=f%2Bd%7Ef%60o%2D&encoded=1&redirect=http%3A%2F%2Flra%2Elouisiana%2Egov%2Findex%2Ecfm%3Fmd%3Dnewsroom%26tmp%3Ddetail%26articleID%3D452> .


A one-two punch
Times-Picayune Editorial
Monday, October 13, 2008

Communities across South Louisiana were still cleaning up after Hurricane Gustav when they were hit by another powerful storm. 

The gap between Gustav and Ike wasn't even two weeks. That's even quicker than the strikes made by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. 

So the Louisiana Recovery Authority was smart to ask FEMA to treat the storms as a single disaster for the purposes of disaster assistance for towns and parishes hit by both hurricanes. It would be virtually impossible in some cases to figure out which storm did what damage.

And what difference does it really make whether a school was destroyed by Gustav or Ike? What difference does it make whether damage in Houma was done by one or the other? FEMA's public assistance program is supposed to help communities recover from disaster, and Gustav and Ike were certainly that. 

"Singularly, each was a major disaster; combined, these two storms amount to a catastrophic event for the state," LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater wrote in his letter to FEMA officials. 

By combining the storms, the state and federal government could process requests for aid more quickly and simply. That approach also should save administrative costs, Mr. Rainwater said. That is an added benefit. 

The main reason FEMA ought to grant this request, though, is because it would allow communities to heal faster. If a community hit by both storms has to fight with FEMA over which one did what, it will inevitably slow the flow of assistance. And disaster aid flows too slowly as it is. 

As Mr. Rainwater reminded FEMA officials, Louisiana was still in recovery from the massive destruction wrought by Katrina and Rita three years ago when this year's hurricanes hit. 

City agencies, universities and other storm victims are still fighting with FEMA to get a fair damage assessment and get the public assistance money they need to finish rebuilding. 

Victims of Gustav and Ike will inevitably face some of the same challenges. But FEMA at least ought to grant Louisiana's request to streamline the process. Gustav and Ike hit us with the speed of a boxer, and there was nothing we could do but hold on until the wind and water died down.

*	
	To read the editorial on the Times-Picayune Web site, click here <http://lra.louisiana.gov/action.cfm?md=emaillist&task=addMessageClickThru&msgid=26&uid=f%2Bd%7Ef%60o%2D&encoded=1&redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fblog%2Enola%2Ecom%2Feditorials%2F2008%2F10%2Fa%5Fonetwo%5Fpunch%2Ehtml> .

Created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005, the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the coordinating and planning body leading the most extensive rebuilding effort in American history. The central point for hurricane recovery in Louisiana, the LRA works closely with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and partners with state and federal agencies to oversee more than $20 billion worth of programs, speed the pace of rebuilding, remove hurdles and red tape and ensure that Louisiana recovers safer and stronger than before. For more information about the LRA and its 17-member board, visit lra.louisiana.gov.

###