Louisiana is in the process of changing how it manages its floodplains. The Louisiana Watershed Initiative (LWI) has divided the state into 8 Regions. I support this initiative. What we were doing in the past was not working. We as a state are still figuring out how to make this work.
Watershed Regions - See Regional Maps
We need State Lawmakers involved in these watershed regions. I recommend you request a map from LWI illustrating the historical damages in your respective watershed regions. You need to see all the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Flood Insurance (NFIP) claims and all the FEMA Individual Assistance (IA) to get a true picture. The NFIP flood claims doesn’t tell the whole story. Many people can't afford flood insurance. So those losses aren’t represented in the NFIP data. They can be made visible with IA data. This will help you help these regions focus their flood mitigation efforts.
Equity for all the people:
There is a term we use called “repetitive flood loss structure”. These are structures that participate in the FEMA flood insurance program that have multiple claims based on some parameters. There are a number of ways to look at this data. One way would be to evaluate how many dollars have been paid out over a specified period or years. Another way is to look at how many times a family has been flooded out of their home for the same period.
There is a difference. If structure A has a household income of $95,000. and structure B has a household income of $38,000., the impact to the family is not the same. How much geography in Louisiana is considered Low and Moderate income. I worry about how our federal policies perform in these Low and Moderate-income areas. A satisfactory BCA can be hard to reach. DISASTERS DO NOT IMPACT FAMILIES EQUALLY
We need risk reduction across the State of Louisiana. The strategy must address coastal and inland Louisiana. It cannot be one without the other.
South Louisiana Lawmakers:
Inland Louisiana, specifically Northeast Louisiana will be here for your people should a storm approach the coast. We have always been here for you. As Coastal Louisiana endures land loss from subsidence, sea level rise, erosion, rising flood insurance cost, loss of insurance companies, higher power bills and the continued impact from tropical systems, families will continue to move inland. Our efforts to reduce flood risk in Northeast Louisiana will help our people and yours.
If there are any lawmakers among you that dont we need help with our flood risk, please educate them.
Source: FEMA, NOAA, NHC and local knowledge
Provided by NOAA
