From: "Robert Comer" 

> Residents of the area had called FEMA ***PRIOR*** to the existence of
> Katrina to inquire whether they needed flood insurance?

No, floodplain maps are available everywhere, even the insurance guys will
let tell you about them.  I looked ours up on the internet, but I can't
remember where right at the mo'.

- Bob Comer


"Ellen K."  wrote in message
news:5q99k1h4a3dgcloqnh5qaph7u9rp1lfbuu{at}4ax.com...
> Residents of the area had called FEMA ***PRIOR*** to the existence of
> Katrina to inquire whether they needed flood insurance?
>
> Regarding the "answering service in Tallahassee, Fla", of course the
> operators had "no expertise in floodplain mapping or flood insurance",
> duh, how a call center works is that the employees have a script.  They
> would just have a lookup by address.  Had the maps been correct, they
> would have provided correct information.
>
> On Wed, 5 Oct 2005 15:58:16 -0400, "Rich Gauszka"

> wrote in message :
>
>>Did you see the reports about how FEMA screwed residents of New Orleans
>>with
>>inaccuracies on flood insurance?
>>
>>
>>http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1183849&page=1
>>
>>State floodplain officials tell ABC News that the floodplain maps, created
>>by FEMA and used by the federal government, are both outdated and
>>inaccurate. They also say the government has known of the inaccuracies.
>>Based on those maps, residents of parts of St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana
>>were told that they did not need federal flood insurance. They lived in
>>sections of the parish that fall outside FEMA's designated Flood Hazard
>>Area.
>>
>>"I thought they knew what they were talking about," said
Jay Martinez, a
>>resident of St. Bernard Parish. "I didn't think I had to worry
about being
>>flooded."
>>
>>After Hurricane Katrina struck, Martinez's home was destroyed by more than
>>6
>>feet of water from the nearby river and shipping canal. Martinez has no
>>flood insurance.
>>
>>"I have nothing left, I mean, you know, without that insurance, we're
>>starting from scratch," he said.
>>
>>The Martinez family is not alone, according to floodplain officials.
>>Hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, along the Gulf Coast are in the
>>same
>>situation because of the FEMA maps.
>>
>>"Some of those maps were produced in 1979," said Larry
Larson, director at
>>the Association of State Floodplain Managers, Inc. "The watersheds have
>>increased runoff because of increased development. That changes how the
>>map
>>looks, so yesterday's floodplain isn't necessarily today's floodplain."
>>
>>
>>Callers to Helpline Misled About Need for Insurance
>>
>>
>>To make matters even worse, homeowners who called the FEMA helpline to ask
>>whether they needed flood insurance were actually forwarded to a private
>>answering service located in Tallahassee, Fla. Operators there had no
>>expertise in floodplain mapping or flood insurance.
>>
>>"Most of them, as far as work experience, had fast food, Wendy's, pizza
>>places," said Robert James, author of the FEMA Call Center Assessment,
>>2005.
>>
>>The confidential audit, prepared by James, found that large numbers of
>>callers were badly misled about their need for flood insurance. ABC News
>>obtained the audit documents from a source other than James. Members of
>>Congress have repeatedly asked FEMA for a copy of the report. As of today,
>>FEMA officials say the agency has not yet turned over the audit.
>>
>>
>>
>>"Three-thousand calls a month - 500, 600 calls a month of which were
>>gravely
>>erroneous. That's a serious problem," said James of the
report's findings.
>>
>>FEMA says it has since replaced the Tallahassee answering service with
>>another one, but that does little for those who relied on its maps.
>>
>>
>>
>>"The people who relied upon these maps, in many cases, ended
up in harm's
>>way, flooded, without flood insurance, and had no idea that they were in
>>danger," asserted Steve Kanstoroom, founder of FEMAINFO.us, a Web site
>>advocating for flood victims.
>>
>>
>>
>>Today, FEMA officials acknowledged to ABC News that their maps are
>>outdated
>>and that their call center was flawed. They said FEMA has begun a
>>billion-dollar program to update the maps. That program, however, will
>>take
>>until 2009 to complete.
>>
>>
>>
>>In the meantime, officials say people living near the water should not
>>rely
>>on the federal flood maps in deciding whether to get flood insurance.
>>
>>"John Cuccia"  wrote in message
>>news:to98k1lp6b2h0lfbqmi06q64921i17rvk4{at}4ax.com...
>>> Here's another interesting (somewhat lengthy) analysis, by a licensed
>>> Professional Engineer who claims to have designed waterfront
>>> structures and works along the Hudson River and elsewhere, of the
>>> design of the 17th Street and London Avenue Canal floodwalls.
>>>
>>> http://solomon2.blogspot.com/
>>> However, from a structural engineering point of view, the levees and
>>> flood walls appear to have been grossly misdesigned for the
>>> containment of waters which only reached to the top of the flood
>>> walls. Here are several reasons for that assessment.
>>>
>>>
>

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