Louisiana Recovery Office New Orleans, LA   FEMA: Week in Review     Dec. 26 - Official Federal Christmas Holiday observed - no WIR this week Jan. 2 - Official Federal New Year’s Day Holiday observed Jan. 7. - Jefferson Parish Lakeshore Library Grand Opening Jan. 17. - Hynes Elementary Dedication Jan. 17-19 - International Disaster Conference and Expo, New Orleans, LA Feb. 7-9 - National Evacuation Conference, New Orleans, LA Katrina/Rita: 17 units Gustav/Ike: 3 units Katrina/Rita: XX units Gustav/Ike: XX units   December 23, 2011 Announcements Calendar Contacts News Desk: (504) 762-2477  External Affairs Director, Andrea Davis: (504) 247-6628 / Andrea.Davis1@dhs.gov Outreach Lead, Amy Connolly: (225) 678-6673 / Amy.Connolly@dhs.gov   FEMA Housing Update A Resolution That’s Easy to Keep: Resolve to be Ready Posted on blog.fema.gov by: Darryl Madden, Director, Ready Campaign What a year 2011 has been. It’s certainly been one of the most active in terms of disasters, with Americans in almost every state impacted by hazards of all kinds – tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, winter storms, extreme heat and earthquakes. As 2011 comes to a close and we usher in the new year, why not make a New Year’s resolution that’s easy to keep? Join us at FEMA and make a resolution to Resolve to be Ready for emergencies in 2012 by taking a few simple steps to prepare your family, home, business and community for potential disasters. As Administrator Fugate said, take the first step and bookmark Ready.gov on your computer and m.fema.gov on your mobile phone – so when you get a free minute this holiday season, you can learn how to get your home, family or business ready in the New Year. Bicycles Lined Up in LRO Lobby for Donation to Toys for Tots FEMA’s Louisiana Recovery Office Displays Holiday Spirit FEMA Louisiana Recovery Office staff showed their holiday spirit this season with generous donations to the Combined Federal Campaign and the Toys for Tots Program sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps. FEMA staff at the New Orleans Recovery office raised nearly $22,000 for the Combined Federal Campaign, which donates to local and international charities. Bikes and toys were also collected for local children through Toys for Tots. Seeking Input on a New and Improved Approach for Mapping Flood Risk Posted on blog.fema.gov by: Sandra Knight, Deputy Associate Administrator, Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, Mitigation As part of our ongoing efforts to reform and strengthen the National Flood Insurance Program, FEMA has been working with members of Congress and other stakeholders to revise our process for mapping the flood risk of communities and families living behind levees. Our goal is to improve the way we map that risk – so families have more precise information when making decisions about how to protect their homes and properties. In recent months, we have explored multiple approaches by seeking extensive input from stakeholders, including independent technical experts and the public. Based on this input, we now are proposing a new mapping process for levees that will help us compile more precise technical data and allow us to more effectively assess the actual flood risk faced by citizens in communities throughout the country. Specifically, our proposed approach would strengthen our current process by helping communities demonstrate the degree of protection that a levee may provide to the surrounding communities. Currently, our maps don’t recognize any level of protection if a levee has not been certified to meet FEMA standards. And as we have throughout this effort, we will continue to seek comments from stakeholders and the public on this proposal to help us finalize this new process. This public comment period will be open until Jan. 30, 2012. Anyone can get more information on this approach and provide comments by visiting the federal register. As with other recently adopted tools that have increased our mapping accuracy, such as digital mapping technology, these new methods will help us continue to improve our flood mapping and analysis efforts. Flood mapping remains a team effort that requires close coordination among our agency; our federal, state, local, tribal and territorial partners and communities – and of course, the public. As we continue to work to improve our flood mapping process, families and businesses can better understand the flood risk they face within their own communities and take steps to protect themselves and their homes against a potential flood. These steps can include flood proofing techniques to mitigate flood risk to their own homes, supporting good land use and building codes in their communities, developing a family communications plan, putting an emergency kit together, and investing in flood insurance. We encourage families and businesses to learn more by checking out http://www.floodsmart.gov/.