Biloxi City Counci Threatens Recovery in Biloxi...

[Sean in New Orleans]

What's up with the arrogant Biloxi City Council who thinks they can take on FEMA about raising homes? This story ran on WWL-TV tonight and FEMA laughed it off and says "This is not negotiable." So, now the City council thinks they can make the laws? Awful news for Biloxi, who stands to be a city that will not be covered, at all, with the federal flood protection insurance program. Crazy, if you ask me. Even the so-called dummies, in New Orleans weren't dumb enough to attempt to fight FEMA and the requirements of raising homes. This will devastate the recovery in Biloxi..no one will want to live there without any flood insurance. http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/14652931.htm

[TSmith274]

They'll capitulate. This has me wondering about Buras, where I'm currently rebuilding. It was said in that report that 16' above sea level will probably be adopted in Biloxi. In buras, I'm putting my camp 12' up, which is 10 1/2' above sea level. But, no guidance is out for lower Plaquemines. We'll see...

[Lindaloo]

Regardless of how you feel Sean, the city council is trying to ease the expense of rebuilding. It is not like FEMA helped many of those folks down here.

[skysummit]

Yea, sometime local government has to take matters in their own hands to get things done. I wish they would've done this sooner in Louisiana.

[Javlin]

There is more to the story than what you see.I know an insurance agent who is very well known in these parts and told me what maybe going on behind the scenes.It's all about politics and money and another FEMA trailer park possibilly.Like we need another one,most of the GC residents have to some degree have been taken care of.


Also like to add that the council has 90 days to challenge FEMA's ruling.Now at the end of the time nothing changes then I would suspect at least one of the other councilman to vote in favor.What's another 90 days.

[Sean in New Orleans]

Regardless of how you feel Sean, the city council is trying to ease the expense of rebuilding. It is not like FEMA helped many of those folks down here.

I know they are trying to help and I sympathize with people on the Gulf Coast. I really do. But, do you honestly think that people will live in Biloxi without flood insurance? I don't. They interviewed a FEMA rep on WWL-TV yesterday, and he flat out said that there will be no flood insurance for Biloxi residents due to this ordinance. That's not good.

[Frank P]

There is more to the story than what you see.I know an insurance agent who is very well known in these parts and told me what maybe going on behind the scenes.It's all about politics and money and another FEMA trailer park possibilly.Like we need another one,most of the GC residents have to some degree have been taken care of.


Also like to add that the council has 90 days to challenge FEMA's ruling.Now at the end of the time nothing changes then I would suspect at least one of the other councilman to vote in favor.What's another 90 days.

The Biloxi city council added another 4 feet to the base flood elevation levels established in 1984. This is somewhat lower than what the FEMA ABFE are... For example, my lot is 17 feet, the proposed ABFE would require me to build to 18 feet, but since I'm not classified in a flood zone I can rebuild to 17 feet...

Once FEMA declares the ABFE as "final", which should occur sometime later this year (Oct or Nov), then the city of Biloxi has 3 months to argue that they don't agree with the FEMA elevations and state their reasons for that disagreement.... FEMA may, but unlikely, lower it after that... but I doubt that happens...failure of the city to adapt the FEMA levels at that point could cause the city to be ineligible to participate in the NFIP

Problem is that for those of us that had flood insurance and would have been required to raise out houses to meet the new FEMA levels... I would have had to go up to 18 feet, only one foot higher.... the city's decision cost me, and alot of other residents 30,000 dollars for ICC money... now I either have to wait to start building for many more months to see if the FEMA levels are finally accepted by the city council to get that money, or build without it... you can't build to the new FEMA levels now and get the money later... it's strictly based on the date of your building permit and what the city flood ordnance elevations are at the time, and if I don't have to go up, I don't get anymore money... one must understand that even if I were to build to the new FEMA levels it WOULD NOT have help me in a Katrina type storm... especially since I had about 26 feet storm surge... if I build back it will be at 27 feet and NOT the 18 feet required by FEMA, at least I want a chance with the next one... people don't realize it but the potential for 20+ foot storm surges may happen more than we realize.. for example, had Ivan in 04 hit in the same general area that Katrina we on the MS coast would have gotten a severe storm surge, probably in the 20' + range.. .then last year we got Katrina... yeah, we might not see another surge like this for years but you never really know ....

[Lindaloo]

IMO, FEMA should take the fall for this. Their outdated flood elevations cost alot of people their homes and in alot of cases their lives!. Because of that, they should foot the bill for the new flood elevations. Someone has to teach the government not to fool with Mother Nature.

[Javlin]

Problem is that for those of us that had flood insurance and would have been required to raise out houses to meet the new FEMA levels... I would have had to go up to 18 feet, only one foot higher.... the city's decision cost me, and alot of other residents 30,000 dollars for ICC money... now I either have to wait to start building for many more months to see if the FEMA levels are finally accepted by the city council to get that money, or build without it... you can't build to the new FEMA levels now and get the money later... it's strictly based on the date of your building permit and what the city flood ordnance elevations are at the time, and if I don't have to go up, I don't get anymore money.........................Well that sucks Frank.So while some councilman(s) try to line there pockets for themselves or there constituents others are losing out.That I was not aware of.The purposed location I am hearing about is out near EAGLE POINT area in Woolmarket and owned by Fore Concrete some 100acres.Maybe a letter to the editor?

[Frank P]

Another couple of points to consider Javlin...

If you don't build to the new FEMA elevations, as proposed... you don't get SBA money, nor are you eligible for any grant money from the state.... which for some could be as much as 150K

I don't think the citizens of Biloxi realize what our council did to the people who want to do the right thing and build to the new FEMA elevations... it would also have helped greatly for the lower income families on the east side of town if FEMA would have helped paid for raising the homes to meet their new elevations... flood insurance ICC money is available but not everyone had flood insurance... too bad...

FEMA was in all probability was going to raise the elevations anyway regardless of the Katrina event... anyone who builds a new home to less than 20 feet above sea level in Biloxi is just going to do it all over again within the next 10 years of so, or less... driving around town I see some people in the St. Martin area, who are quite low as it is at around 13 feet or so, are building new homes back on their original slabs...... some people never learn... there is NO WAY I could build back on my original slab on the front beach, which is at 18 feet...

Driving in the Long Beach and Pass Christian areas yesterday I saw several new homes being built, all going up at least 8 to 10 feet higher than their origninal slabs.... thats a good sign... one house on the beach in Gulfport is going back on its original slab.. Lee and Chi Chi's... my guess it that their house is probably about 17 feet above sea level... all in all as of today I didn't see more than about a half a dozen new homes being build along the coast... things are moving along really slooooooow...

[Pearl River]

Just don't do what the City of Slidell has done over the past few years and twice reject the FEMA flood insurance. Now the city has no money to do cleanup and FEMA will not help because of the past rejections.

[MGC]

I have notice several homes being rebuilt on their original slabs in the Pass/LB area. This I can not understand. I have also noticed several that have raised the elevation on their slabs but would still be wiped out in a Katrina type surge.....MGC

[Lindaloo]

Alot of people can't afford to raise them. Have you all forgotten? I haven't!!