The story of Noah’s Ark is my all-time
favorite Bible story. Noah was given specific instructions on how to build the
ark. Built from cypress and coated with pitch inside and out, the ark’s profile
would have looked enormous against the horizon. Noah and his family filled the
ark with two of each living creature, male and female. The rain came for forty
days and forty nights. The earth was flooded, and all was lost. The ark came to
rest safely upon the mountains of Ararat. The earth would now have a second chance.
I have always said, "Noah’s Ark was the world’s most
successful flood mitigation project." Noah knew a flood was coming. He listened
to the warnings of what was ahead, he was provided construction plans and took
action to mitigate the flood.
While Louisiana has plenty of cypress, the ark we need in
2022 is legislation. In 2011, Northeast Louisiana was protected from the
Mississippi River by levee’s that were legislated to be built following the
1927 flood. The State has grown since the early 20th Century. Our
hazards and risks have changed. We need new comprehensive legislation that
establishes a risk reduction strategy and guides investments to reduce inland
and coastal flooding.
I encourage our best and brightest to inform our lawmakers
on the need for risk reduction across the State of Louisiana.
We know a flood is coming. We need to take action.
Photograph from the National Weather Service - The great Mississippi River flood of 1927. Refugees in camp near the Louisiana Monument during the Great Flood of 1927 at the Vicksburg National Military Park.
The recovery from the Great Flood of 2016 gave rise to a period
of community rebirth. Officials worked on flood mitigation strategies, housing,
infrastructure, economic recovery, health, and natural and cultural resources. With
the rebuilding underway, public meetings were held and people’s concerns and
ideas were heard. In those early days of the recovery, you could sense the call
to action for change. That sense of urgency still exists.
The political landscaped also changed during this period. And
people were noticeably more interested in cultural happenings and civic events.
The private and public sector continued to invest in the community. Progress
was being made. In August 2020, real estate developer and State Representative
Michael Echols all but declared a Renaissance.
Public art, poetry readings, photography, live musical performances, freedom of speech exercises, and being different are now a permanent part of our
cloth. We can never go back.
Beginning in 2020, the region experienced a prolonged period
of adversity that threatened all the progress made. The community was impacted
but our resilience won. Despite the pandemic, hurricanes, tornadoes, flash
flooding, and a winter storm, public and private investments continue. All things cultural are
flourishing.
The community investments in infrastructure,
economic development and culture continue at a never-before-seen tempo. Our leaders
understand the linkage between business and culture, and they are leveraging.
People will visit our region to experience the art, food, wineries, cultural happenings and great outdoors. Remote workers and businesses will be attracted here for all the afore mentioned amenities.
The culture - business blend model is spreading in the Ouachita River Valley. Be looking for investment opportunities.
It’s in our national interest for communities
to be successful in their disaster recovery efforts. This was one of the main reasons FEMA established the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF). Your local long-term recovery framework needs to be strong enough to support passionate discussions and public discourse but not so rigid it suppresses new ideas and innovation. Rebuild your community in a way that reduces risks, promotes quality of life and supports economic development.
The quality of recovery on the Gulf Coast impacts inland communities. People returning to work, healing,
rebuilding, community planning, and generating tax revenue are all key
indicators of a community recovering.
A while back, I was in a watershed planning meeting going through
a presentation on flood claims from the Great Flood of 2016. Someone pointed at
the map and asked about the geography that was absent of flood claims. I was
waiting on that question. I then showed them the IA claims and stated the population
in this area could not afford flood insurance. They applied to FEMA for
help in a different program. What followed was a conversation about low and moderate
income (LMI) areas, the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and equity.
Disasters do not impact families equally. Poor
people come from all walks of life. There is linkage between breaking the cycle
of poverty and breaking the cycle of disaster-rebuild -disaster.
Using the early 2000s as a marker, the frequency and magnitude
of natural hazard events is raising questions if not alarms. In Louisiana, we
are living from disaster to disaster. This doesn’t seem normal. I have worked
in this industry for more than 25 years and I have questions.
I will start by asking if our investments in emergency management
are proportional to the increase in frequency and magnitude? Are we attempting
to inhabit geography that is uninhabitable? Are environmental conditions
changing? Is it temporary or permanent? Are we creating emergency response plans
to complex for implementation by humans? Are we appropriately explaining
risks to our people?
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act or as I refer to it “The Stafford Act” has served our nation
well over the years. Is it adequate to manage catastrophic events? Is it
appropriately designed to manage overlapping active disaster declarations for a
common geography?
We need risk reduction across the State of Louisiana. Our lawmakers
need to hear from the next generation. We need our best and brightest working
on this.
All emergency management practitioner, meteorologists,
academia and related fields of study, are encouraged to communicate with their
respective lawmakers. Write your lawmaker, participate in a conference call, or
attend a public meeting. If you have expertise or a storm story you would like to share, lawmakers need to hear from you.
Louisiana SB 414 by Senator Fred H. Mills, Jr. is dead. He and others worked hard on this legislation. In Northeast Louisiana Karen Cupit, Lisa Richardson and the Region 3 Watershed Committee worked hard on this initiative. No legislation is perfect. This legislation sought to add structure to statewide risk reduction efforts. The strategy provided for inland and coastal risk reduction. It assembled subject matter experts to manage, and it provided a mechanism for local and state leaders to inject their thoughts and concerns into the process.
As the Louisiana Gulf Coast changes, all of Louisiana must adapt. The time for talk is over. As a strategy, inland risk reduction does two things. 1) It protects families and business and 2) It prepares inland Louisiana to receive coastal populations and businesses as they migrate inland.
A statewide strategy that accounts for the loss of the coast and prepares inland Louisiana is needed. SB 414 put us on a path to develop a strategy. HB 606 would have matured and headed this direction out of necessity. Both are dead.
We will have to work harder to make sure the people of Louisiana have a voice as our geography and risk to all-hazards change.
Northeast Louisiana is committed to helping our coastal families. If a storm threatens the coast, we will be here.
