Mississippi Blue Roof Program 9-13-05

[Dick Pache]

Moderator Note: this should be a sticky
NEWS RELEASE
Task Force Hope
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Mississippi Recovery Field Office
http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/hurricane/chr.php
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA NOTE: The web site shown has lots of Corps Katrina related information and is growing
daily. Please add to your hurricane link pages.
Operation Blue Roof team could cover 2 square miles, new centers announced
September 13, 2005 1400 HRS CST
GULFPORT, MISS ... Operation Blue Roof, FEMA’s program to repair damaged
roofs, is facing the task of placing an estimated 2 square miles of fabric over 23,000
structures in south Mississippi.
More than 100 crews under the Army Corps of Engineers are already working to cover
several hundred roofs each day, with both numbers headed upward.
Fourteen Mississippi Sign Up Centers are ready to help residents as follows:
• Wiggins: Public Library
• Pascagoula: Pascagoula High School
• Moss Point: Pelican Landing Convention Center
• Keesler AFB: Base personnel only, due to security restrictions
These join the following centers that have been opened.
• Gulfport: Harrison County Justice Court, 1620 23rd St.
• Picayune: Resurrection Life Church, 795 Memorial Blvd., Suite H
• Poplarville: Yellow Building behind City Hall, 206 Julia St.
• Ocean Springs: Next to American Thrifty Store & Hospital off Highway 90
• Bay St. Louis: Hancock Training Depot; 1928 Depot Way and Blaiz Ave.
• Biloxi: Community Center on East Howard
• Hattiesburg: Golden Age Center at the Mt. Carmel Church, 1027 Main St.
• Lumberton: 100 Main Street.
• Columbia: Justice Court Building
• Prentiss: Justice Court
Residents or their agents need to file their request in their home county. Mississippi
residents may file in any county where Sign Up Centers are active, regardless of your
county of residence, as long as the county qualifies for this program.
Additional counties are being added as the need is expressed by county officials.
Additional information is available on the Mississippi Response web site at
http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil
Operation Blue Roof is a priority mission managed by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers for the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA).
The program provides assistance to storm victims in disaster areas through the
installation of rolled plastic sheeting on damaged roofs, thereby helping to protect
property and allowing residents to remain in their homes.
Residents will need to complete a Right of Entry Form to allow Corps Federal roofing
teams to assess their property and assign the work to a Blue Roof contractor.
Disaster experience has proven that it is more efficient for residents to come to a
servicing center rather than have limited disaster workers go door to door when only 10%
of home owners will actually be in the home.
Corps roofing team members will go to the property, do a damage and eligibility
assessment, and give the roofing contractor a tasking order. Property owners should
expect work within 14 days of the request.
Corps roofing team members will have proper identification and uniforms. Citizens
should not hesitate to ask persons approaching their property for proper identification.
FEMA has estimated that approximately 23,000 roof repairs will be required for this
event.
Operation Blue Roof Tips
• The Mississippi central call-in number is open at 228-701-0588
• Mississippi residents can use any Sign Up Center, regardless of your home county
• Building must be a primary residence, not recreational or commercial
• Facilities such as churches used as shelters qualify
• Using available “self help” programs does not disqualify you from OBR
• Shingled and metal roofs qualify; flat roofs do not.
• Garages only qualify if they have become a primary living space
• Homes must be structural sound and have 50% living space
• Roof and/or truss damage must be less than 50 %
• Truss and sheathing will be replaced as needed for qualified structures
• The order of your request may not match the order of your response
• In some cases, response may be 30 days or longer
• Absentee property owners can fax requests to the home county EOC
• Download the ROE form from our web site or contact your county EOC
• Please don’t call to check on status of your request. That information is not
readily available and slows response to others.
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MEDIA REPS: For more information, contact Michael Logue, Chief, Public Affairs, Vicksburg
District (601) 631- 5052, 601-529-5052 cell or reply to this e-mail.
Frank Worley, Recovery Field Office Public Affairs Mission Manager, is on the ground in Gulfport
and can be reached at 601-831-3053 to set up local interviews and photo ops.
These numbers are for your use and should not be published, to maintain rapid mission
response.