ID:

561

Date:

2010-01-02

Headline:

Levee statistics point up their importance to nation's economy

Reporter's name:

Mark Schleifstein

Delay/denial:

No

Lawsuit:

No

Fees:

No

Media outlet:

New Orleans Times-Picayune

City:

New Orleans, LA

Summary:

Despite the failure of levees during Hurricane Katrina, and complaints that some Americans live too close to water for their own safety, data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) show that most Americans live in counties protected by levees, and protecting those people and areas more than pays for itself.

Notes:

A New Orleans advocacy group, Levees.org, used FOIA to obtain the data from FEMA, and commissioned a geographer to analyze the data, which were later reported by several outlets. (See http://levees.org/2010/03/29/study-commissioned-by-levees-org-accepted-for-presentation-at-lsu-conference/ and http://levees.org/2010/01/05/levees-orgs-new-levee-stats-getting-national-attention/)

Keywords:

New Orleans, levees, Hurricane Katrina, FEMA, research, Ezra Boyd

URL:

http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2010/01/levee_statistics_point_up_thei.html

Agencies:

DHS
FEMA
USACE

States:

CA
DC
LA

Categories:

hurricane Katrina
natural disaster