Beyond Katrina

State of Louisiana's Express Pay System Quickens the Pace of Recovery During First Year

BATON ROUGE, La. - Since the beginning of the state's innovative Express Pay system last March, the Louisiana Recovery Authority and the Governor's Office of Homeland Security have quickened the pace of recovery by cutting down payment wait-times in FEMA's Public Assistance program from nearly 60 days to an average of eight business days.

Also during its first year, the Express Pay system made payments to 4,231 local governments and nonprofits totaling $865 million.

Louisiana Recovery Authority Executive Director Paul Rainwater said, "Prior to January 2008, the previous administration took anywhere from 45 to 60 days to reimburse local governments for expenses incurred on rebuilding projects. This was extremely difficult for contractors, because many small businesses simply couldn't wait that long to be paid for work already accomplished.

"We took a long, hard look at the process and found an extraordinary amount of paperwork was required for payments," Rainwater said. "Expense reimbursements are critically important in keeping our rebuilding projects moving forward, so we had to eliminate this bottleneck. The last thing we want is delayed recovery because of late payments. Unlike the former process, which was unfriendly to business, Express Pay allows the speed of government to keep pace with the speed of business."

Governor's Office of Homeland Security Director Mark Cooper said, "When government runs more efficiently, things get done in a timely manner. More companies will be willing to do business with the state of Louisiana now that we have a better system in place."

Overall, in the PA program for Hurricane Katrina there are 2,161 applicants, representing 17,927 projects amounting to $3.79 billion in payouts. For Hurricane Rita, there are 931 applicants representing 4,464 projects amounting to $404 million in payouts.

Express Pay works by educating applicants on the reimbursement process and deferring detailed review of documentation until after payments are issued. If the state determines there has been an overpayment, the applicant is issued a credit against the next reimbursement.

Backed by the legislative auditor, the Express Pay system ensures accountability and transparency while speeding up recovery without opening the door to fraud.

The PA program provides state and local governments and some nonprofit organizations with funding for recovery measures such as rebuilding of buildings, roads, bridges and water and sewer plants. PA funds are obligated by FEMA through project worksheets. Once the funds are obligated, the applicant must request reimbursement from GOHSEP for eligible work completed. Obligated funds may change over time because the project often is adjusted as bids come in and the scope of work is aligned. All project worksheets are paid up to 90 percent of the obligated amount, with the remaining 10 percent held as retainer until a detailed review of the final request for reimbursement has been completed.

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.

La. Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Public Meeting

BATON ROUGE -- The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority will conduct
a public meeting Wednesday, March 18, 2009, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the
LaBelle Room on the first floor of the LaSalle Building located at 617 North
Third Street in Baton Rouge.

The meeting information is listed below:

COASTAL PROTECTION AND RESTORATION AUTHORITY

The meeting of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has been
scheduled for:

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
9:30 a.m.
LaSalle Building
LaBelle Room, First Floor
617 North Third Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802

If you need additional information, please call Chris Macaluso in The
Governor's Office of Coastal Activities at (225) 342-3968 or email at
chris.macaluso@la.gov.

State of Louisiana Selects New Contractor to Manage Road Home Small Rental Program

BATON ROUGE, La. - The state of Louisiana on Thursday announced the selection of ACS State & Local Solutions, Inc., to manage the Small Rental Property program, as the state transitions from its expiring contract with ICF International.

"In Louisiana, we face a shortage of affordable rental units. Restoring this housing is critical to bring back the workforce we need to move our recovery forward," said Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. "We've produced more than 1,000 units through this program, and we will continue to work to streamline the process for landlords so that we can rebuild some of the thousands of rentals lost to hurricanes Katrina and Rita."

To ensure that landlords remaining in the program have continuous service, the state will begin immediately to negotiate the terms of its contract with ACS, including performance measures consistent with the goal of holding contractors accountable for their performance.

So far, the Small Rental Program has provided more than $50 million to landlords, creating 1,073 rental units, 756 of which must offer affordable rents. Another $57 million worth of funds are scheduled to be closed upon by landlords, and this investment will create an additional 1,285 rental units. In total, the program has committed more than $405.9 million to landlords.

The state already has selected Hammerman and Gainer, Inc., to run the homeowner portion of the program and CGI Technologies and Solutions to provide IT services to state disaster recovery programs. ICF's contract with Louisiana ends this summer.

To meet the continuing functions of the Road Home program as it transitions managers, the state will award the following contract in the future:

• Piggyback Program Management Contract - This contractor will provide technical assistance with negotiations, loan agreements and other program documents that ICF currently handles and may also provide monitoring as the program moves forward.

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Governor Jindal Appeals to White House to Reverse Denial of Extension of 100 Percent Federal Cost Share for Ike, Requests Clarification on Cost Share for Hurricane Gustav

BATON ROUGE, La. - Governor Bobby Jindal, in a letter to President George Bush this week, appealed the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) denial of Louisiana's request for an extension of full federal cost share for debris removal from Hurricane Ike and requested equitable treatment to the state of Texas, which has had a 100-day extension of 100 percent federal cost share for Ike.

At Governor Jindal's request, Louisiana had been granted 100 percent federal cost share for Categories A and B of FEMA Public Assistance, which reimburses states for debris removal and emergency work after disasters, for only 44 days. FEMA denied Louisiana's request for an extension of this time frame, while at the same time approving a 100-day extension for the state of Texas.

Because parishes could not immediately begin debris removal after the storm and because the federal government waited so long to authorize a limited 100 percent cost share time period for Hurricane Ike in Louisiana, many parishes were not able to see the full effects of this benefit, Governor Jindal wrote.

In a separate letter, Governor Jindal seeks clarification that the White House's intent in November was to authorize 90 percent federal cost share for all effects of Hurricane Gustav. Hurricane Gustav has two declaration numbers, FEMA - 1786-DR and FEMA-3289-EM, and Governor Jindal believes President Bush intended to authorize 90 percent cost share for emergency work and debris removal under both declaration numbers and wants a formal clarification of this.

In response to Governor Jindal's requests, in November, President Bush authorized dropping Louisiana's share of costs related to the response and recovery of Hurricane Gustav from 25 percent to 10 percent, meaning the federal government would pay for 90 percent of all costs related to Gustav only.

Governor Jindal has repeatedly requested 100 percent federal cost share for all categories of FEMA Public Assistance for both hurricanes Gustav and Ike, because paying local match on all hurricane recovery costs when the state is rebuilding after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in addition to hurricanes Gustav and Ike is an undue burden on the state and its parish governments.

• Click here to read the letter on Hurricane Ike cost share.
• Click here to read the letter on Hurricane Gustav cost share.

Rare Snow in the U.S. Deep South

Yes, Louisiana was a winter wonderland...it was very cool. Here's a modis image and recap from NASA:

A snow storm arrived in the Deep South of the United States in mid-December 2008. Several inches of wet snow fell across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama on Thursday, December 11, closing schools and businesses in a part of the country where accumulating snow is a rare event. The following day, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite passed overhead and captured this natural-color image, revealing a broad swath of snow still on the ground from just north of New Orleans, Louisiana, to north of Jackson, Mississippi. Although snow did fall in New Orleans, it was no longer visible by the time MODIS captured this image. Flooding rains drenched other parts of the South, which may be why the Gulf of Mexico coast (lower right) and many rivers and lakes are brown with sediment. NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey. Instrument: Terra - MODIS Date Acquired: December 12, 2008

America’s WETLAND Calls on Local Volunteers to Give Back and Go Green this Holiday

Volunteers Needed for Wetland Plantings in City Park this Saturday

NEW ORLEANS (December 16, 2008) – The America’s WETLAND Conservation Corps is calling on New Orleanians to give back and go green this holiday season.

More than two dozen volunteers are needed to plant spartina and other vegetation in New Orleans’ historic City Park this Saturday, December 20, 2008, from 8 am- noon. Volunteers, directed by the America's WETLAND Conservation Corps, will plant, nurture and incubate mini-wetland habitats that will later be used to restore Louisiana’s precious coast. This volunteer event, which will take place rain or shine, will be held at the Pelican Greenhouse located near Christian Brothers School in City Park.

As the largest recreation center in the New Orleans metropolitan area, City Park is essential to the cultural and recreational rebirth of the Crescent City. Volunteers have been an essential component of City Park’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina. During the devastating storm of 2005, the Parksustained an estimated $43 million in damages when it was inundated with one to eight feet of water. While water has receded, much work still needs to be done to restore the Park to its original condition.

To sign up or learn more about this volunteer opportunity, contact Trevor Powell at tp1188@yahoo.com or (985) 859-9061.

Volunteers are encouraged to dress appropriately (no open-toed sandals) and asked to bring work gloves, boots, and anything else they may need to work in muddy conditions. Volunteers may also bring food and beverages. Drinks will be available. Lunch will not be provided.

About the America’s WETLAND Conservation Corps

Home to dozens of threatened and endangered species and our nation’s largest flyways, America’s WETLAND is one of the most significant estuaries in the world. An amazingly complex ecosystem composed of swamplands, marshes and forests that span over 6,000 square miles of Louisiana’s coast, this region provides protection to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of property and infrastructure, produces 30 percent of the nation's oil and gas, provides 30 percent of the country's seafood and is home to the largest port system in the U.S. Despite its nationally strategic importance, this valuable landscape is vanishing at an astonishing rate of 24 miles per year.

The America's WETLAND Conservation Corps is an AmeriCorps program which engages 18 members and hundreds of volunteers in hands-on coastal restoration and recovery activities across Louisiana, including vegetative plantings, restorative interventions, community-wide clean-ups, and hands-on educational projects for members, volunteers and the communities they serve.

Directions to the Pelican Greenhouse in City Park

From I-10 (Ponchartrain Expressway East) take Exit 231A to City Park Avenue. Keep Straight on Ponchartrain Blvd. after exiting. Take a left onto City Park Ave and continue 0.7 miles. Turn left onto Marconi Drive and continue 0.8 miles. Go past the main entrances of City Park and go under I-610. Immediately after going under I-610 take a right onto Zachary Taylor Drive. Continue on Zachary Taylor Dr. for 0.5 miles. Take a right onto Golf Road and go under I-610 and then under the Rail Road Tracks. Road name changes to Golf Drive after going under I-610. Continue past the Rail Road less than 200 yards and the Pelican Greenhouse Complex will be on the left. Park near the gravel driveway. For questions or additional information, contact Trevor Powell at tp1188@yahoo.com or (985) 859-9061.

The America's WETLAND Foundation is supported by a growing coalition of conservation and environmental organizations across the globe and has drawn private support from businesses that see wetlands protection as a key to economic growth.

This message and other America's WETLAND Foundation activities are made possible by the generous support of "World Sponsor" Shell; "National Sponsors": Acadian Ambulance Service, AE Com Coastal, API, BG North America, LLC, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, BP, CH2M HILL, Chevron, CITGO Petroleum Corporation, Coca-Cola Enterprises and Baton Rouge Coca-Cola Bottling Company, ConocoPhillips, Cox Communications, Dow Chemical Company, ExxonMobil, Freeport McMoRan, Hornbeck Offshore Services, McIlhenny Company, The Shaw Group, Spectra Energy and Whitney National Bank; Louisiana Sponsors: the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Louisiana Lottery Corporation, Louisiana Network, New Orleans Hornets, New Orleans Saints, and the Paragon Casino Resort.

If your organization would like to join this list of forward-thinking businesses, call the Foundation's offices at 1-866-4-WETLAND (1-866-493-8526) or email a campaign representative at americaswetland@mcopr.com.

Tropical Depression 17 Forms in the Southwest Caribbean Sea

The Atlantic Hurricane Season is still not over yet. Tropical Depression (TD) 17 has formed in the Southwest Caribbean Sea. TD 17 is expected to intensify into a tropical storm in the next 24 hours and could become a hurricane in 2-4 days. If TD 17 can attain Tropical Storm status as forecasted, it would be named Paloma. The current track guidance indicates some threat to the Cayman Islands and Cuba in the 4-5 day period but given the system just formed, the track is very uncertain at this point in time.

Bioneers Conference Day 3

Nina Simons, President and Co-founder: How dominant our left side of the brain is personally and in the culture. Another intrepretation: Masculine and feminine capacities. The question is how do we as a culture find balance? What is the purpose of leadership? to catalyze change. Peter Senge - leadership is about creating new realities. We must redefine leadership. Most of our models for leadership are outmoded. She proposes we lead more from the feminine - from the right side of the brsin, involves a shift into awareness of the natural world - to community and connection. Leadership is an evolving practice. How to practice leadership 1. valuing relationships more than things. 2. pay attention to our biases 3. Name our prejudices 4. Appreciate processes as much as outcomes 5. Ask the right questions - allow others to step into leadership 6. partner in supporting each other into leadership - reciprocal mentorship, especially women and girls. Naomi Klein - THE SHOCK DOCTRINE: THE RISE OF DISASTER CAPITALISM The deals that are being made now re the financial bail out are impacting the future. The banks have been essentially nationalized. Plan A was handling the debts - taking private debts and making them public. Both political parties rose up against it and the people said no. The bad idea is to turn the government into a kind of hedge fund. Crony capitalism at its worst. Klein urges people to read the fine print on this deal. 9 banks agreed to partial nationalism. The public is taking on the risks with none of the power. So what are the conditions? Milton Friedman quote: Only a crisis real or perceived will bring change. We have an opportunity because the economic infrastructure is in crisis. The biggest crisis of our time is climate change. This is a moment of opportunity. We can only be defeated by our tentiavness. Google Earth: Visualizing change, mapping the future: Rebecca Moore Rebecca's efforts are dramatically leveraging the crucial work of NGO's, communities, initiatives With google earth u can hold the earth in the palm of your hand. Initially it was used for recreational use. When Katrina hit New Orleans NOAA asked google earth to provide hi res images - helped save 4,000 people. Goog doesn't just give you the earth - they give you the tools to add your own content to it. You are putting information in context which is useful in environmental activism. Appalachian Voices -Mountain Mining Initiative: used google earth to show the communities that would be impacted...image overlays to show before and after of mountaintop removal.'' you can annotate and embed video... This initiative needed signatures on a petition to stop a mountaintop removal project and were able to accomplish this with google earth. San Francisco Oil Spill - ocean conservancy used google earth to raise awareness. Dreaming New Mexico: Now you can embed google earthninto your website. incredible group of activists, systems approach to collaboration They were invited by an Amazon tribe trying to save a rainforest to come down and teach their people how to use Google Earth. They had first contact with modern life when a highway penetrated their rainforest. The chief went to a university, tried google earth on a computer and did the first thing everybody does, flew to his home. The chief connected the dots and then went to Google Earth and asked them to train their people - a way for them to show the world how they are saving their forests and how it is economically sustainable. The tribe realized that they were going to connect with and share their culture with millions of people. Rick Reid COLLABORATING ON A GRAND SCALE: THINK SYSTEMICALLY AND ACT COLLABORATIVELY New approaches to grant making. Climate change project in the midwest. 19 grantmaking agencies commited funds to a process - to reform a system. Goal was an 80% reduction in coal reduction - 25 year gold. First thing was to generate a complete systems map - then to pare it down to 4 leverage points. While they were doing this 100 million dollar wind farm was announced - but also a new coal plant. They were able to mobilize. No one group could reach their goal but together they could. The whole body made grant making decisions that were aligned with the larger goals.

Bioneers Conference - Day 2 Plenaries

13,000 people are gathered today in real time - on site and in satellite locations around the globe. Chief Oren Lyons of the Wolf Clan speaking at Bioneers now... Janine Benyus: NATURE'S 100 BEST: TOP BIOMIMICRY SOLUTIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES Qualcomm - research on imitating the colors of a butterfly's wings - applications to color on digital screens Benyus is the "mother of biomimicry"... just returned from the ICN conference - International Conservation League. She said she is not going to talk about scarcity, she's going to talk about abundance - life's good ideas. There is more than one way to spread our seeds. Indigenous people have known for a long time that the models are there. Co2 is being used to make plastics. There is a company that is learning to harvest wave energy like kelp. bioluminescent jellyfish - just add calcium and you get light. Bee swarm technology - bees have a unique voting system. algae know how to manage bacteria without killing it. purifying water using human membranes as a model. the economy - one company's discards being used by another...resource sharing. Life's most innovative design is that it gives and takes care of its own needs. Vision for who we can be as a species? Dune Lankard - SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS OVER CENTURIES: A NEW BUSINESS MODEL Dune is an Eyak Athabaskan native - became an activist and preservationist when the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill descecrated his homelands and water. He describes the preservation of ecosystems and the people who inhabit them as the way to maintain healthy, thriving economies for businesses into the community. Conservationists are fighting over the same funding pots. Started a land trust - the native conservancy - for his tribe so they didn't have to give up their land to preseve and conserve it.

Bioneers Topic: Digital Oasis

Well this topic is of course near and dear to the heart -Digital Oasis: Online Networks, Blogging,& Fast Forward Change. A couple of salient points: Blog's are a centerpice of any online activism campaign, but we should be using everything that's availabe, and I'll list the most important web 2.0 solutions later. Tree Hugger,Grist, and Wiser Earth are leading the panel discussion. Interestingly, Tree Hugger is a blog, started as a blog... follows a similar Model as BK - feautured contributors

Bioneers Conference Friday afternoon sessions

I am covering the topic 'Women Rising Globally' this afternoon in the main tent. This is a panel discussion. Media and communications is one of the main components in this rising movement of women in leadership. 3 Unstoppable Trends: 1. The rise of women's leadership. 2. The communications Revolution ---lower barriers for publishers. 3. The shift in global consciousness to invest in women's issues. my observation: I am thinking to my self how young they look - the 4 amazing women who are sitting on this panel - and right there is the evidence...and the good news! Kavita Ramdas just said something amazing - she said there is this idea that we should be focused on educating women. She says women have a lot to do to educate the world. There is this idea that women are this group of people who need educating, filled up, given micro-credit. Women need to be have their voices and their wisdom heard - The knowledge and wisdom is already there.

Bioneers Opening Notes

Energy market is a 6 trillion dollar industry - I am not sure I can wrap my mind around 6 trillion. Texas is about to build one of the biggest wind plants in the world. The Dreaming New Mexico Project inspires an idea -What about a Dream map for gulf coast rebuilding? Paul Stamets - "the mushroom guy" is speaking right now about using fungi to save the world! Just heard Erica Fernandez speak, a young lady who at the ripe age of 16, rallied her community to stop an LNG pipeline project that would have negatively impacted the coastal community she lives in. Ray Anderson speaking on the "green collar economy", Industrial sustainability in action now. 7 real examples of new thinking, conscious design, and bio-mimicry...status quo thinking is an opiate that must be over come. He says the goodwill of the marketplace has been astonishing. In closing Anderson says "our society cannot survive unless we take care of nature. She is the goose that lays the golden egg. We must not only 'do no harm', we must do good. Kavita Ramdas, The Global Fund fund for Women - extraordinay woman doing amazing work to empower underprivledged women. Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of the late great Jaques Cousteau speaking on blue issues - she believes water is the defining crisis of this next century. She says passion for the ocean is a beautiful legacy to have been born into...and her grandfather grew weary of answering environmental questions at the end of his life. He did not understand how people could see the grandeur of the earth and its oceans and ask why it should be preserved. Our water planet gives back what we give to it. If we abuse it returns abuse. I don't think any of us in south Louisiana can argue this point. Alexandra urges all of us to change the conversation from one of guilt to one of urgency in hope.

Blogging Live From Bioneers Conference

Good morning. I am blogging live this week-end from the 19th annual Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, California. Bioneers members are creating and realizing imaginative approaches to restoring and protevting the health of our planet and the well being of our communities.

Adopt A Hurricane Impacted Family for Christmas

Hello, Margaret Saizan here.  I am the publisher of Beyond Katrina: The Voice of Hurricane & Disaster Recovery. Since 2005 I have sponsored  a Christmas wish fulfillment/Adopt a Family program to help match donors to hurricane survivors. The program has  become very popular and I am especially pleased that the donors love it so much!   Unfortunately, I wasn't able to host the program  last year  for personal reasons. However, much to my surprise (and delight) I received many emails from  donors who were really disappointed about this. The Adopt-a-Family program has been an enormously  rewarding experience for both givers and receivers alike.    

Inasmuch as the gulf coast is still not fully recovered from the storms of 2005 and its citizens are now dealing with the aftermath of two additional hurricanes - Gustav and Ike - I am considering reinstating the program this year. Please let me know if you are interested in participating either by adopting a family, being a co-sponsor,  or otherwise.  At this point I am seeding ideas and  I welcome dialogue and input from readers and stakeholders in gulf coast hurricane recovery.

In times past the program has been wildly successful as an organic, self creating initiative and this seems to be congruent with the viral way in which  new media/social media moves. However, this year I am getting a little bit earlier start than usual and plan to be more intentional in my promotional efforts. Inasmuch as the deeper motivation for most who participate lies in  the satisfaction of a job well done, I would like to create a way to cross promote the businesses and initiatives of participating donors and sponsors.  In this way the benefits to all are multiple.

Please email inquiries, ideas, pledges to donate or sponsor, etc. to Margaret Saizan at  beyondkatrina@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Cheers,

Margaret Saizan
Beyond Katrina: The Voice of Hurricane & Disaster Recovery
www.hurricane-katrina.org

Gustav really was the worst, meteorologists say

Aha! I've been waiting for the dust to clear and the information to come forth as to why Cat 1 Gustav was such a formidable hurricane for Baton Rouge, exceeding the intensity and the damage wrought by Betsy and Andrew. Two LSU scientists weigh in here.

On another note, I wish the National Hurricane Center would change the policy of repeating the same hurricane names every few years. It creates  confusion for those of us who document them - and it doesn't seem to be the most  efficient way to do this in my humble opinion.

There are two invests in the Atlantic and  thankfully seems like neither are going to be very ominous at this point, nor are these systems heading for the Gulf of Mexico. Hopefully we gulf coasters are done for a while.

Tenacity Over Tears: The Life of a Bayou Woman

I want to take this opportunity to introduce my readers to a very special friend from Bayou Du Large, one of the the coastal communities in Terrebonne Parish, La that was  impacted  by the storms of 2005 and now severely in  2008.  Her name is Wendy Wilson Billiot, but she is most affectionately known these days as "Bayou Woman". While I have never met Wendy personally - inasmuch as we have a shared passion for Louisiana's coastal concerns -we've enjoyed a wonderful pen pal relationship via email for the past year or so. There are some folks you just feel an affinity to right off the bat. Wendy is one of them.

In addition to keeping up with her through email,   Wendy publishes a very unique and interesting blog about her life in Bayou Du Large which I read frequently. Well before Gustav and Ike made landfall in coastal Louisiana, I told Wendy I wanted to do a tribute to her and her blog here at Beyond Katrina because I've enjoyed it so much.  After Ike's storm surged pushed into Terrebonne Parish flooding her community and her home, I just knew it was time to make good on that promise.

Wendy's blog, "Life in the Louisiana Wetlands ", (which can be viewed at http://bayouwoman.wordpress.com/ ) is a veritable plethora of information about life on the bayou  as seen through the eyes of a true blue Bayou Woman. She covers everything you'd ever want to know there (but are too afraid to ask) from fishing, to bayou cooking, wildlife, plant life and  more.

Wendy is also a hard working and  relentless advocate for the preservation and restoration of Louisiana's fragile wetlands.. Her community of Bayou Du Large is in the  Terrebonne Estuary System, which she is quick to remind is "vanishing at the astonishing rate of a football field every half hour". She has a  USCG captain's license which enables her to take people on tours to see the amazing beauty and degradation of our wetlands. She has also penned a wonderful book, Before the Saltwater Came, an environmental book about our local wetlands and the first of its kind. Her book  is being used to educate students about our disappearing wetlands in  classrooms across the  state, the nation, and indeed all over the world. Likewise, her articles have appeared in many well know magazines and newspapers and she won the  Louisiana Outdoor Writer's Association Excellence in Craft first place award  in 2007 for her articles about Louisiana's coastal issues.

Believe it or not  there is still more - and while  I haven't told Wendy this yet -  this is just the  first in a series of posts I'll be doing about "Bayou Woman". She is one of the most creative, interesting and multi-talented folks I've ever encountered and there is just way too much to share about the cornucopia that is her life in just this one post. I also feel it is important to cover Terrebonne's recovery and rebuilding efforts here, just as I have done for the communities impacted by Katrina and Rita. However, I couldn't share the story of Terrebonne's recovery any better than Wendy can.

As I write, Wendy is working hard to clean up after Gustav and Ike, choosing "tenacity over tears" as she deals with the multitude of personal and collective losses inherent to the impact of two back to back hurricanes.   Her latest blog posts with accompanying photographs (yep she's quite a photog too)  provide an insiders view of the many facets of  hurricane recovery in Terrebonne parish. I do hope you will stop by Wendy's blog at http://bayouwoman.wordpress.com/ and peek in on the amazing life of a Bayou Woman!

Margaret Saizan

**Photo courtesy -- Wendy Billiot

Storm report: Forgotten people

"Time and Tide" Isle de Jean Charles --Terrebonne Parish, La. (courtesy Matthew White)

This one's near and dear to the heart. I was very pleased to that Gannett's Dennis Camire penned an article focused on the Houma Indians and their struggle to preserve their way of life, their lands and to rebuild again in light of recent hurricane devastation. As Camire reports,"the problem is that the tribe has not fully recovered from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The tribe's members, many of whom used to depend primarily on fishing for their livelihood, are seeing their marshlands vanish into the Gulf of Mexico and are being battered with personal losses from storm after storm". The article which is publised at The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, Louisiana may be viewed here.

I want to take this time to do a  mention for Houma Indian Captain John Verret  who has generously helped me and and my colleague Matthew White  get up front and personal with coastal land loss and wetlands issues over in Terrebonne -  as have others there. As a result Matthew has quite a few  photographs taken in Isle Jean Charles (which is part of the article's focus), Dulac, Cocodrie and other parts of Terrebonne, here.  Matthew does plan to return soon to continue his documentation of  this fragile  ecological jewel.

   

Gustav costs utilities $600 M

The Entergy companies that serve Louisiana and three other states paid up to $600 million to get the lights back on after Hurricane Gustav, Entergy Corp. said in a press release Friday. Continue>>>

Levees make noticable difference

Hurricane Ike helped illustrate what residents of two south Louisiana parishes already know — having levees and coastal restoration means less flooding during storms. Continue at The Advocate....

Gov. Jindal visits storm-wrecked Terrebonne Parish

    

"The Gulf of Mexico came up, and as you know, we couldn't stop it," said Terrebonne Parish sheriff Vernon Bourgeois.It was amidst that backdrop that Governor Bobby Jindal arrived in Terrebonne Parish, talking about the state's efforts to recover from two hurricanes in the span of two weeks. He says the state won't be able to do it on its own.Continue>>>

Lafitte residents assess Ike's damages

Flooding is a familiar sight here, but Hurricane Ike is the new        benchmark. Continue>>>

Fish are weathering the storms

When Hurricane Ike's tides finally fall next week, fishing is expected to pick up where it left off. But anglers heading back to their favorite spots shouldn't expect to find their world the way they left it before Hurricane Gustav. The marsh has been reshaped -- again -- and so have area marinas. Continue>>>

Changing the landscape of Louisiana marshes

Upcoming long-term projects to rebuild dying marshes will alter the landscape of the coastal fishing communities, which need to start preparing

As Hurricane Ike's storm surge created coastal chaos, I couldn't help thinking back to conversations earlier this summer with Lafitte area anglers upset about the impacts of the Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion Project. Speck fishing had been lousy in the northern part of Barataria Basin, and fishermen were convinced it was because Davis Pond had changed their brackish habitat into a freshwater lake. Continue>>>

Parts of Galveston 'all a memory now'

GALVESTON, TEXAS -- With floodwaters largely receded, National Guard troops ushered hundreds of downtrodden residents aboard buses off this battered barrier island Sunday, where electricity and basic utilities are likely weeks away from being restored. Continue>>>

Tugboat hits bridge in Bayou Sorrel, hundreds landlocked

BAYOU SORREL, LA (WAFB) - Louisiana DOTD workers are trying to create a passage way for hundreds who are now landlocked on Bayou Sorrel. Continue>>>

Hurricane Ike destroys a number of Gulf platforms

HOUSTON (AP) - Federal officials say it appears Hurricane Ike destroyed a number of production platforms and damaged some of the pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. Lars Herbst, regional director for the U.S. Minerals Management Service, said Sunday that flyovers revealed that at least 10 production platforms were destroyed by the storm. Herbst stressed the assessments were preliminary, but the damage appeared far worse than that caused by Hurricane Gustav two weeks ago.

30 deaths blamed on Ike in the U.S.

(AP) - A look at storm-related deaths, by state, reported by authorities after Ike's passage from Texas northward across the U.S. midsection, puts the death toll from the storm at 30. Continue at WAFB.COM

Most of Louisiana's coast flooded by Ike

HACKBERRY — Hurricane Ike's floodwaters lay over most of Louisiana's 250-mile coast Sunday, inhibiting search and rescue missions while leaving behind vast destruction of a landscape still struggling since the deadly 2005 storm season. Continue>>>

Battered Louisiana waits for Ike's floodwaters to recede

HACKBERRY, La. — Lingering floodwaters and debris from Hurricane Ike kept much of coastal Louisiana off-limits to thousands of evacuees on Sunday, but work continued through the night and into Monday to clear roads, rescue the stranded and get hard-hit south Louisiana back to normal. Continue>>>

La. Guard winds down search, rescue

BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana National Guard troops Sunday evening were winding down search and rescue operations after plucking another 50 people from danger in parishes flooded by Hurricane Ike, said Maj. Michael Kazmierzak, public affairs officer for the guard. Continue>>>

STORM REPORT: Ike's destructive surge leaves nowhere to run in Cameron Parish

HACKBERRY - The salty water pushed into Cameron Parish by Hurricane Ike started to recede Sunday, but most of the area remained isolated because of flooded roadways. La. 27, the primary two-lane highway into and out of the parish, remained under water in spots so deep Sunday that a 2 1/2-ton National Guard truck needed human guides in the water to keep it on the road. Continue>>>

Worse than Rita: Coastal residents say Ike might be last straw

The one-two punch of hurricanes Rita and Ike may be more than some residents of the Acadiana coast can stand. "I think around 60 (percent) to 70 percent of the people (whose homes) were destroyed won't come back," predicted Clifton Hebert, emergency preparedness director in Cameron Parish. "The ones that can come back will, but it's going to be tough." Continue>>>

Some good can come from hurricanes

By John N. Felsher

      After Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast Aug. 29, attention naturally focused on the human catastrophe.

      With thousands of people dead or potentially facing death and once vibrant communities in shambles, the plight of fish and wildlife hardly registers in the minds of people. However, the storm not only killed people, but wildlife and fish. More importantly, it ravaged critical wetland habitat, perhaps permanently.

      The salty storm surge flooded prime fishing areas in southeast Louisiana and neighboring states. As salty water poured into fresh or brackish marshes, bass that could not find sweeter water died.

      When Hurricane Andrew clobbered the Atchafalaya Basin in 1992, hundreds of millions of fish died because the storm disturbed organic matter at the bottom of lakes and bayous. Decaying vegetation consumes oxygen.

      Saltwater species probably fared better. Fish in coastal bays could move to other areas or take refuge in deep gulf waters. About a week after the storm, anglers as far east as Terrebonne Parish began fishing again. However, the storm likely caused damage to marshes east of Terrebonne Parish.

      “Our long-term concern is what happened to the marshes themselves,” said Harry Blanchet, the finfish program manager in the Marine Fisheries Division of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in Baton Rouge. “The state already loses about 25 square miles of marsh each year to coastal erosion. Marshes are nursery grounds for many species. The question is, how much marsh did we lose with Katrina.”

      Like people, animals either flee storms or hunker down to try and ride them out. Ground dwellers, such as deer and rabbits, probably suffered the most. If they did not find dry ground, they drowned. Squirrels could simply cling to trees to ride out the storm, as long as their tree didn’t fall. Birds could fly from danger.

      “We had a fairly good deer herd at the mouth of the Mississippi River in Pass a Loutre Wildlife Management Area and Delta National Wildlife Refuge south of Venice,” said Dave Moreland, the LDWF Wildlife Division administrator. “That herd may be wiped out. I understand some Mississippi River levees were out of the water. If they can swim to higher ground, deer might survive. If not, they drown. Historically, that herd supplied stock for half the state when we released deer in the 1960s.”

      In forests, deer and other animals can generally survive a storm better than they can in open marshes. Marshes provide little high ground to escape rising waters. In a swamp or a forest, deer, rabbits and other animals can often cling to trees, stumps or floating debris and survive.

      The marshes of southeast Louisiana create outstanding habitat for waterfowl. The Mississippi River delta serves as one of the best winter grounds for ducks and geese in North America. The area contained few ducks at the time, but waterfowl coming down the Mississippi Flyway may need to find another place to go.

      “We may have lost that habitat for ducks,” Moreland lamented. “It was some of the best duck habitat in the country. Hunting in that area may be slim this winter. Ducks can go somewhere else, but if we lose habitat, ducks can’t live in that area.”

      Fortunately, nature can rebuild fish and game stocks much faster than people can rebuild cities, as long as quality habitat remains. Nature abhors a vacuum. Once conditions return to normal in an area, remnant survivors or stock from adjacent unaffected areas quickly repopulate empty habitat.

      “Mother Nature is quite capable of responding faster and more effectively than people do,” Blanchet said. “A hurricane does produce some benefits for the environment. Storms are a natural part of the system in which fish and animals live. Assuming the habitat survives, fish and wildlife can recover, but the entire geography of the affected area will change.”

      In the short term, fish will see little pressure in the hardest hit areas for quite some time. That might allow a slight bump in populations. In addition, nutrients flowing into an estuary cause shrimp, crabs and baitfish to bloom after a severe storm. Less than a year after storms ravaged Florida in 2004, sportsmen recorded bumper crops of shrimp and crabs in the areas hardest hit. Game fish soon respond to this abundance of bait.

      “Over time, nature responds,” Moreland said. “Nature can repopulate areas if possible. If some animals survived in those areas, they will repopulate habitat that can sustain them.”

      Nature always runs in cycles. For instance, if rising water forces rabbits and coyotes to share constricted areas, coyotes feast upon the cornered rabbits, at first. Rabbit populations drop drastically. When coyotes can no longer find rabbits, they may begin to die of starvation. As coyotes die, more rabbits survive to adulthood.

      As water recedes, new plants grow. With little competition from their brethren, rabbits find abundant food. Rabbit survival rates increase. As the rabbit population blooms, remaining coyotes find excellent hunting so they might survive to produce more coyotes.

      In addition, good habitat for one species might make poor habitat for another species. A storm knocking down trees in a forest displaces squirrels, but the openings in the canopy may cause more underbrush. Deer, rabbit and quail populations might blossom with the increased browse and cover.

      While anglers won’t return to their legendary southeastern Louisiana honeyholes anytime soon, fish and game stocks will eventually rebound. Perhaps, they might even come back better than ever. It happened before.

In Ike's wake, holdouts complicate rescues

HACKBERRY, La. - A convoy of National Guard trucks – flanked by Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife airboats and "Cajun special" flat-bottomed boats – pressed toward this small cattle town, fighting precarious winds, rough chop, and a snake-infested flood to reach hundreds of holdout farmers and roughnecks, many with no intention of getting rescued. Continue at the Christian Scientist Monitor

LDWF Continues Efforts In Ike Search And Recovery Operations

BATON ROUGE --The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) resumed search and rescue (SAR) operations on Saturday, September 13. As of 6:30 p.m. today, the SAR team had rescued 118 people in Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson, and Vermilion parishes. Fourteen airboats remained on standby at the forward command post in Jennings.

LDWF enforcement teams made attempts to check on residents in hurricane-affected areas and many individuals chose not to evacuate. LDWF will begin secondary searches to ensure the safety of residents who chose to remain in areas that were affected by Hurricane Ike. Federal Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams will also resume search and rescue efforts tomorrow, September 14, as needed.

Total SAR personnel on a state level are 623, with 334 watercraft vehicles. These numbers include resources from LDWF, the Louisiana National Guard (LANG), Federal USAR teams and fish and game state agencies from Arkansas, Ohio and Virginia. The LANG and U.S. Coast Guard will continue to provide aerial reconnaissance support for SAR missions as needed.

Governor Jindal Update on State Response Efforts for Hurricane Ike

BATON ROUGE – Today, Governor Bobby Jindal gave an update on state response efforts surrounding the impact of Hurricane Ike in Southwest Louisiana.

Governor Jindal said that the state is continuing its focus on saving lives and helping to rescue people who need to be helped to safety. In total, state agencies worked to rescue an estimated 411 people today, in addition to the 179 rescues reported by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries yesterday. The Governor visited Southwest Louisiana parishes throughout the day, and saw firsthand search and rescue resources working to transport people from flooded areas to higher ground. Governor Jindal surveyed the storm's impact on Delcambre, Erath, Abbeville, Pecan Island, and Lake Charles today, seeing many homes and businesses flooded throughout the southwest area.

Governor Jindal said, "Our people are working together to save lives and help each other to safety. Today, our Wildlife and Fisheries rescue teams rescued 118 people and National Guard teams rescued 293 people. I saw firsthand several homes that were flooded in Calcasieu and Vermillion Parishes, and we are working with parish leaders to begin recovery operations to get the people in these parishes, and all those affected by this storm all along our coastline, back on their feet as quickly as possible. Tomorrow, I will be meeting with local leaders in Terrebonne, Lafourche, and lower Jefferson parishes, in order to get a firsthand assessment of the damage and the recovery needs in those areas."

 NATIONAL GUARD OPERATIONS

((PLEASE NOTE – some of these details were from preliminary reports on the ground before the Governor's briefing at 7PM.))

Louisiana National Guard's high water vehicles responded to calls as early 2AM today for rescues throughout the storm-effected parishes.  In St. Mary Parish, 116 people were rescued from the Franklin Nursing Home, 99 people were evacuated by high water vehicles and parish buses, and 16 were evacuated by ambulance.

As soon as weather permitted, six Blackhawk helicopters began sweeping the coastal parishes moving west along the backside of Hurricane Ike, but reported no individuals on rooftops in need of assistance. National Guard Boat teams commenced operations with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes at daybreak.

 Total National Guard rescues to date: 293

National Guard Resources Involved in Search and Rescue:

       High Water Vehicles: 255                                             High Water Vehicle Rescues: 275

      Helicopters:  20                                                            Helicopter Rescues:      6

      Boats: 41                                                                      Boat Rescues:   12

In addition to Search and Rescue missions, National Guard personnel continue to provide security support to eleven Food Stamp Distribution Sites.

Currently, Commodity Distribution sites are up and running in Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Terrebonne and Plaquemines parish, and additional points will be added as needed. As of today, we have cleared over four thousand miles of roads and seventeen thousand cubic yards of debris from hurricane Gustav.

Acadia Parish

The National Guard has 152 guardsmen, 82 high water vehicles, 8 boats, and a National Guard Satellite Communication team (ASOS) located in parish.

Assumption Parish

The National Guard has 275 guardsmen in the parish and the 239^th Military Police Battalion performing security operations.

Calcasieu Parish

The National Guard has 538 guardsmen and 117 high water rescue vehicles, and two boats in the parish. The Guard established a search and rescue lillypad at Chennault Airfield, and Guard helicopters flew to Carlyss to confirm reports of people in need of evacuation. Upon arrival, the flight crew discovered around 100 people being assisted by local firemen and six of them were determined to be special needs individuals who were immediately air evacuated to Chennault Airport.

Using Boats and high water vehicles, LANG personnel rescued 40 people from neighborhoods throughout Lake Charles, 12 people from the Laberge Casino parking lot, three adults, a two-year-old child and 2 dogs were rescued by a civilian boat and then transferred to a National Guard High Water Vehicle to the evacuation to lillypad. 17 people were rescued from St. Patrick Hospital in Lake Charles, and National Guard boat teams continue to conduct deliberate searches of flooded areas. The National Guard also moved 18 generators from their facility at Gillis Long to Chennault Industrial Air Park.

Cameron Parish

The National Guard has 40 guardsmen in the parish and National Guard boats working with Wildlife and Fisheries rescued 3 adults, 1 toddler and 2 dogs from Choupique Bayou. The Louisiana National Guard Special Reaction Team (SRT) located in Lake Charles is prepared to deploy to Cameron.  SRT is a quick reaction team composed of military police and national guardsmen who hold law enforcement occupations in the civilian sector. National Guard Satellite Communication Team (ASOS) will be in place tomorrow, Sunday, 14 September.

Iberia Parish

The National Guard has 157 guardsmen and nine high water rescue vehicles in the parish, and they will be providing additional personnel to assist in patrolling the parish during their 24 hour curfew period.

Jefferson Parish

The National Guard has 141 guardsmen and 58 high water rescue vehicles in the parish.

National Guard aircraft airlifting emergency food and water from Houma to Grand Isle. National Guard resources are also conducting security missions and standing by to support the town of Lafitte.

Jefferson Davis Parish

The National Guard has 79 guardsmen and 31 boats in the parish. Additionally, there is a National Guard Satellite Communication team (ASOS) also located there.

Lafourche Parish

There are 128 guardsmen in the parish, and 25 soldiers are assisting in sandbagging a secondary levee in Larose. Lilly pads for search and rescue are located at Thibodeaux Airport, Nicholls State Soccer Field, Raceland Recreation Center and the Greater Lafourche Port Commission Heliport. Three dump trucks have been sent to Larose truck stop to be prepared to handle the West 2nd Street Floodgates.

Orleans Parish

The National Guard has 792 guardsmen and 26 high water rescue vehicles. The Guard continues to provide security in New Orleans and an Engineer Assessment Team has been dispatched to inspect various hot spots in levee system.

Plaquemines Parish

The National Guard has 253 guardsmen and eight high water rescue vehicles in the parish. The Guard completed sandbag operations in Braithwaite and Scarsdale areas. 

St. Mary Parish

The National Guard has 40 guardsmen and a high water rescue vehicle in the parish. Guardsmen conducted door-to-door searches looking for personnel in the Pecan Acres subdivision and 18 people were rescued. Also, the Guard assisted in the evacuation of Franklin Hospital, and 12 Military Police are assisting the local sheriff with security efforts.

Terrebonne Parish

The National Guard has 150 guardsmen and a high water rescue vehicle in the parish. 22 people were rescued from locations in Houma, Dulac and Theriot, and parts of Houma Airport have standing water.

Vermillion Parish

The National Guard has 151 guardsmen and 19 high water rescue vehicles in the parish.

Reports from guardsmen throughout the parish indicate several roads impassable due to water. The Guard is prepared to launch rescue operations from several locations throughout parish, and there is a National Guard Satellite Communication team (ASOS) located there.

SEARCH AND RESCUE – WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES

In total today, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries reports that they rescued 118 people, 13 dogs, a cat, and four ducks. This is in addition to the 179 people they rescued yesterday before Hurricane Ike made landfall.

There are reports of 42 rescues in Cameron/Calcasieu/Vermillion Parishes, including one case in Calcasieu of a rescue of 8 people, 13 dogs and ducks. Search and rescue missions are actively ongoing in Hackberry where some individuals are now choosing to leave.

Units are working night security patrols by boat in Vermillion Parish, and 32 people have been rescued in Terrebonne, and 26 in Jefferson Parish, where a majority of the Lafitte area is underwater. Six people were rescued in Plaquemines parish, and many more were rescued by the sheriff.

HEALTH CARE

Governor Jindal reported that four nursing homes are on generators, down from six earlier in the day. There are 1,600 people are in special needs shelters, while all medical special needs patients have been returned to Orleans and Jefferson Parishes from the PMAC at LSU. DHH visited 10 nursing homes personally today and will continue to monitor others in storm-effected areas.

 ((More timely updates included in the Governor's briefing on levees is being released through the Governor's Office of Coastal Activities.)), T

A Tribute to Louisiana's Coastal Parishes

Hazy Afternoon at Holly Beach, LA, Blue Sail, May 2008 (Courtesy Matthew White)

Ike's Impact on Coastal Louisiana

I am completely and totally devastated tonight about the situation in coastal Louisiana.  Here are a few of the latest news articles:

Ike’s surge floods southwest parishes- The AdvocateSearch-and-rescue teams plucked more than 500 people from Hurricane Ike’s floodwaters Saturday. However, a 16-year-old boy drowned in Terrebonne Parish.

Cameron devastated, coastal Acadiana flooded - The Daily Advertiser
Unprecedented storm surges and wind-driven waves have once again knocked Cameron to its knees, pushed water into Vermilion Parish homes, and wreaked havoc with lives and property across coastal Louisiana. Ike will join the list of storms, including Audrey and Rita, that will be long remembered in a state where there have been many memorable storms.

Ike floods 13,000 Terrebonne buildings-  The Advocate
HOUMA, La. (AP) — Hurricane Ike flooded more than 13,000 buildings and 200 miles of road in the southern part of Terrebonne Parish, affecting about one-fifth of the parish’s residents, officials said.

Lack of cooperation vexes rescuer in Terrebonne - NOLA.COM
DULAC -- Gunning his rescue boat down the inundated main drag in the fishing village of Grand Caillou, state Wildlife and Fisheries agent Joe Arnaud can overcome anything Hurricane Ike throws his way.But there's one thing he says he can't get over: people who aren't willing to be saved or to cooperate with rescuers.

Ike kills 2 in Louisiana, floods homes
LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — Hurricane Ike spared Louisiana a direct hit, but its winds and waters killed two people as coastal areas were inundated with a storm surge that crawled some 30 miles inland, flooding tens of thousands of homes and making many roads impassable.

Jean Lafitte, Barataria floods worst in recent history - NOLA.COM
The worst flooding in memory hit the Jean Lafitte-Barataria area of Jefferson Parish on Saturday morning, overwhelming frantic efforts to beat back Hurricane Ike's rising storm surge with makeshift levees and swamping perhaps hundreds of homes.Parish officials said they could not yet quantify the damage, but residents said water has never risen so far or so fast in the area, topping even Hurricanes Katrina and Rita three years ago.

President Declares Major Disaster For Louisiana

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for the state of Louisiana to help people and communities recover from the area affected by Hurricane Ike beginning on September 11, 2008, and continuing.

FEMA Administrator David Paulison said the assistance was authorized under a major disaster declaration issued for the state by President Bush. The President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Acadia, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Sabine, St. Mary, Vermilion, and Vernon Parishes.

The assistance, to be coordinated by FEMA, can include grants to help pay for temporary housing, home repairs and other serious disaster-related expenses. Low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration also will be available to cover residential and business losses not fully compensated by insurance.

Federal funding also is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organization on a cost-sharing basis in Acadia, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Sabine, St. Mary, Vermilion, and Vernon parishes for debris removal, including direct federal assistance. In addition, federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for all parishes and tribal nations statewide.

Paulison named Michael J. Hall as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Hall said that damage surveys are continuing in other areas, and more counties and additional forms of assistance may be designated after the assessments are complete.

The Agency said that residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at www.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (local time) Monday through Sunday until further notice.

FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

Flooding closes roads in Terrebonne, St. John and Plaquemines parishes

Storm surge from Hurricane Ike has closed several roadways across greater New Orleans, most notably a 14-mile stretch of Highway 23 in Plaquemines Parish from West Point a la Hache to the Myrtle Grove area, which remains under a 5 to 6-foot blanket of water. Continue>>>

Rescue crews wait for Ike to pass to find victims

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) -- Howling ashore with 110 mph winds, Hurricane Ike ravaged the Texas coast Saturday, flooding thousands of homes and businesses, shattering windows in Houston's skyscrapers and knocking out power to millions of people. Continue>>>

In Galveston, homes under water and fires spreading

GALVESTON, Texas - Hurricane Ike's winds left behind a barrier island city more than three-quarters submerged in water and riddled with house fires that were still spreading in late morning. Continue>>>

26,000 homes flooded in Terrebonne Parish Louisiana

My thoughts and prayers are with the good folks from  Terrebonne Parish - Captain John Verret, Captain Wendy Billiot, Janie Luster and others...

Source: Capital News Bureau, www.2theadvocate.com:

The storm surge from Hurricane Ike flooded 26,000 homes in Terrebonne Parish, state officials said Saturday.“Many in Houma, it is safe to say,” said Chris Macaluso, spokesman for the Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration.The flooding made Houma’s airport inaccessible to all aircraft except for helicopters, Gov. Bobby Jindal said.The state also reported:

• 1.5 miles of levee overtopping in Plaquemines Parish.
• The failure of temporary aqua-tube levee protection in Lafitte.

Lafitte, Terrebonne Parish flooded by Ike

BATON ROUGE -- State officials said Saturday that the Jefferson Parish town of Lafitte was under six feet of water because of flooding driven by Hurricane Ike. Continue>>>

Ike's winds prevent rescues, as flooding rivals Rita

Thank you CNN! Not too many other news sources seem to be concerned about storm surged southwest Louisiana - those folks were overshadowed by Katrina when Rita hit. Here's the latest:

• Story Highlights
• Officials say residents not in danger
  
• Authorities to dispatch rescue teams when winds from Hurricane Ike die down
  
• Southwest Louisiana officials say flooding is worst they've seen in years
  
• Cameron Parish sheriff tells evacuees not to come home yet

Continue at CNN.COM

Cameron Parish, La.?

I just got a call from friend Margie Keiper who has been getting slosh reports post Ike. She said Cameron Parish is the worst hit for storm surge...she got interrupted by a phone call so I'm waiting for her to call me back with actual storm surge figures...

PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT: Southeast Texas may have escaped the worst

One of my favorite weather bloggers, Sci Guy, weighs in on Hurricane Ike's damage to southeast Texas over at chron.com:

Did Southeast Texas escape the worst?

IN THE WAKE: Maximum tide in Galveston was probably 15 feet or less   

IKE COMES ASHORE: Hurricane unlikely to cause widespread damage to inland homes   

Ike winding down as a hurricane/heavy rains & tornadoes still a threat

IKE IS CONTINUING TO GRADUALLY WIND DOWN AS A HURRICANE AS IT MOVES
FARTHER INLAND TOWARD EASTERN TEXAS. MAXIMUM DOPPLER VELOCITIES
HAVE DROPPED BELOW 100 KT DURING THE PAST HOUR...SO THE ADVISORY
INTENSITY HAS BEEN LOWERED TO 70 KT...WHICH COULD BE A LITTLE
GENEROUS. HOWEVER...A SURFACE PRESSURE OF 968.5 MB WAS REPORTED TO
THE WEST OF THE EYE AT HUNTSVILLE TEXAS...SO I WOULD RATHER ERR ON
THE SIDE OF CAUTION AND NOT BRING THE WINDS DOWN TOO QUICKLY...
ESPECIALLY WITH STRONG CONVECTIVE BANDS NOTED IN THE SOUTHERN
SEMICIRCLE.

THE INITIAL MOTION ESTIMATE IS 360/14.  IKE IS MOVING NORTHWARD
AROUND THE WESTERN PERIPHERY OF A DEEP-LAYER RIDGE SITUATED
EAST-WEST OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES. IKE IS EXPECTED TO
GRADUALLY ACCELERATE AND RECURVE TO THE NORTHEAST LATER TONIGHT AS
THE CYCLONE COMES UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF FAST SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW
AHEAD OF A SHARP FRONTAL SYSTEM FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR. BY 24-36
HOURS...IT IS POSSIBLE THAT IKE MAY BE ABSORBED BY THE FRONTAL
SYSTEM OR TRANSITION INTO AN EXTRATROPICAL CYCLONE. HOWEVER...THE
EXPECTED FORWARD SPEED OF IKE'S SURFACE LOW IS SLOWER IN THE
ADVISORY THAN MANY OF THE GLOBAL MODELS ARE SUGGESTING DUE TO
ANTICIPATION OF THE MID- AND UPPER-LEVEL CIRCULATIONS DECOUPLING
FROM THE LOW-LEVELS AND RACING RAPIDLY OFF TO THE NORTHEAST DUE TO
VERTICAL SHEAR INCREASING TO MORE THAN 100 KT. THE FORECAST TRACK
IS SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS ADVISORY TRACK...AND THE TIMING OF
EXTRATROPICAL TRANSITION IS BASED ON INPUT FROM THE NOAA
HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER.

ALTHOUGH IKE IS SPINNING DOWN AS A HURRICANE IN TERMS OF MAXIMUM
WINDS...UNFORTUNATELY...ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS WILL GRADUALLY
BECOME MORE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES TO DEVELOP ACROSS MUCH OF
EASTERN TEXAS...WESTERN LOUISIANA...AND ARKANSAS THROUGH TONIGHT.
LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE A THREAT...AS WILL CONTINUED
HIGHER THAN NORMAL TIDE LEVELS ALONG MUCH OF THE WESTERN LOUISIANA
AND UPPER TEXAS COASTAL AREAS THROUGH AT LEAST THIS AFTERNOON.

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INITIAL       13/1500Z 31.0N  95.3W    70 KT...INLAND
12HR VT     14/0000Z 33.2N  95.1W    45 KT...INLAND
24HR VT     14/1200Z 36.7N  92.3W    30 KT...BECOMING EXTRATROPICAL
36HR VT     15/0000Z 40.6N  86.2W    30 KT...EXTRATROPICAL
48HR VT     15/1200Z 44.5N  77.2W    30 KT...EXTRATROPICAL
72HR VT     16/1200Z...ABSORBED BY FRONTAL ZONE

$$
FORECASTER STEWART

Meteorologist: Ike's storm surge less than feared

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — Experts say Hurricane Ike's storm surges are less severe than originally predicted and the worst is probably over...Forecasters had predicted a surge of up to 25 feet. Continue>>>

Ike leaves at least 80 in Galveston needing rescue

GALVESTON, Texas     — Hurricane Ike continues to keep Galveston rescue teams from reaching at least 80 people stranded in high waters. Continue>>>