FEMA approves Louisiana plan for emergency disaster prep, recovery

Tyler Eschette
·2 min read

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The Louisiana State Hazard Mitigation Plan that is effective from March 21 to March 20, 2029, was recently approved by FEMA.

State Hazard Mitigation plans are required by FEMA to qualify states to receive federal aid and grants, according to a news release from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

“Having a strong state hazard mitigation plan is critical to help Louisiana communities prepare and recover from disasters,” Louisiana’s State Hazard Mitigation Officer Jeffrey Giering said. “Partnerships with these universities are critical to our success and enable us to move the state’s emergency preparedness plan forward.”

After researchers from LaHouse conducted a natural hazards risk assessment for extreme weather hazards that affect Louisiana, it was found that “potential losses from natural hazards could reach $5 billion per year by 2050,” according to a news release.

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“Our 2024 risk assessment allows us to look holistically at how different natural hazards affect different parts of the state,” Giering said. “Understanding the $5 billion annual risk is a key step in comprehensively reducing our risk in ways that are significant and equitable.”

The Center for Hazards Assessment, Response & Technology at The University of New Orleans, one of the groups that helped develop the plan, supports the update with an emphasis on the following sections:

  • The planning process.

  • State mitigation capabilities.

  • The overall mitigation strategy.

  • Local coordination and capacity building.

  • Mitigation in action across the state.

  • Plan, review, evaluation and implementation.

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UNO-CHART also updated the Statewide Community Rating System Strategy and intends to update the current Statewide Repetitive Loss strategy through the next year, according to a news release.

The next step of statewide planning is to share information about natural hazard risk and ways to limit this risk throughout Louisiana, GOHSEP officials said. Parishes will be updating parish-level hazard mitigation plans.

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