LTRC, Harrison County Long Term Disaster Recovery Coalition

Harrison County Long Term Disaster Recovery Coalition
Mary Ellen Calvert, Chairperson lmecalvert@cableone.net

FROM THE RC RESOURCE LIST:

Mailing Address: 12320 Ashley Drive Suite D
Gulfport, MS 39503

Phone: 228- 539-5052

Hours of Operation: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday

Eligibility Requirements: Must be a survivor of Hurricane
Katrina.

Documents Required: FEMA number, other forms as required for
case management

Description of Services: Conducts initial needs assessments
for Harrison County, coordinates cases and prioritizes for
case manager assignment, facilitates case management roundtable
and unmet needs roundtable

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FROM GULFCOAST NEWS:

FEMA Recovery Report - Year 2
Harrison County
Population: 171,875 (2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimate)
Major Communities: Gulfport, Biloxi, Long Beach

Approximately 54,527 Harrison County residents have received FEMA Rental Assistance. The funds allow eligible families to find more permanent housing solutions. FEMA’s Corporate Lodging Consultants Direct Pay program also assists families who are renting property by paying landlords directly.

· In Aug. 2006, approximately 12,251 temporary housing units were occupied in Harrison County. That number has decreased by 47 percent.

· The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) disburses Public Assistance funds.

· A project worksheet is a dynamic record of each project and is used to collect information and provide justification for the project. A project worksheet describes the eligible work, the scope of the proposed project and provides estimates of the costs to repair damage.

Volunteer Activities

· FEMA Voluntary Agency Liaisons work with Mary Ellen Calvert and the Harrison County Long Term Disaster Recovery Coalition or Rick Weaver and the Harrison County Unmet Needs Task Force.

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program

· Harrison County will receive a grant from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) as part of Mississippi’s statewide generator initiative. The program will provide generators to critical facilities in the county.

· The city of Biloxi received a $101,250 HMGP grant to assist them in updating their 2003 hazard mitigation plan and implementing recommendations to address hazards and flooding. Biloxi was the first community in Mississippi to have a FEMA- and MEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan.

· The city of Gulfport also received a $101,250 grant to assist the city in developing a new hazard mitigation plan. MEMA and FEMA approved the plan.

· FEMA and MEMA authorized two HMGP grants for about $19 million for West Harrison and D’Iberville high schools to build state-of-the-art storm shelters on campus. The schools will be built in an area where very few, if any, hardened structures existed prior to Hurricane Katrina and will be constructed to withstand 200 mph wind gusts and debris impact. The combined school shelters will provide shelter for more than 5,000 people.

· Fire Station #2 in Long Beach was the first partnered mitigation project after Katrina. FEMA provided funds from two programs for this project: a $127,985 Public Assistance grant and a $524,538 HMGP grant. When FEMA Public Assistance funds are obligated to repair or replace buildings or other infrastructure, HMPG funds may be used to enhance the work with techniques that are designed to mitigate damage from future storms—a partnered mitigation project.

· Gulf Coast Community College, Harrison County branch, will receive a HMGP grant as a participant in Mississippi’s statewide siren initiative. The warning systems will be installed on school campuses throughout the state to allow students, staff and community residents enough warning to seek shelter in the event of a natural disaster or man-made emergency.

· MEMA, as designated by the Governor of Mississippi, administers the HMGP.