Flood Mitigation Assistance Team Visits Louisiana to See Hazard Mitigation Grants in Action

FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Directorate Assistant Administrator Derrick Hiebert met with Louisiana state and local mitigation partners to see hazard mitigation grants in action. The visit focused on elevation projects funded through the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program in East Baton Rouge and New Orleans. In East Baton Rouge, Hiebert visited a project that was completed in under two years with funding received through the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program’s Swift Current opportunity. Rather than through the annual Flood Mitigation Assistance grant cycle, Swift Current provides resiliency dollars after a major disaster declaration following a flood-related disaster event to reduce risk against future flood damage. In New Orleans, local officials told stories of repetitively flooded homes. One of those homes received funding to elevate and since completion, no claims have been filed with the National Flood Insurance Program. Hiebert also acknowledged that these projects completely transform the likelihood of a community recovering and returning to normal life after a disaster. These successes in Louisiana highlight the important role that hazard mitigation grants play in building community resilience.