Disaster Archive
Hurricanes 2005
Task Force Conference Call Highlights
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Feb. 9 | Jan. 19 | Jan. 5| Calls in 2005
Highlights from the Conference Call on February 9, 2006
In New Orleans, collections issues continue to surface as people return and find damage, according to Alan Aiches of FEMA. He said FEMA is working with the city to get closure on historic structures and rebuilding issues and estimates that project approval for collections will probably be wrapped up by June. He said they are working on about 70 collections projects in Louisiana.
Mr. Aiches clarified the assistance process: normally it begins with a kickoff meeting, after which a project worksheet is due within 60 days. When the project is approved, about 75 percent of the funds are provided. The rest of the money comes when the report is submitted. The money goes from the federal government to the state treasury, and the state emergency management agency approves the disbursement of the funds.
Scott Edwards with the Florida State Historic Preservation Office reported that they are still working on temporary housing sites and building repairs. Things are still trickling in, he said, adding that they are still seeing damage related to Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis.
Joan Weinstein, Deputy Director of the Getty Foundation, announced a $2 million fund for New Orleans visual arts organizations, to be used not only for conservation activities but for transition planning—helping organizations define their mission and audience in a new environment. Individual or groups of organizations may apply. The Getty Foundation is also looking for ways to assist the rest of the Gulf Coast through their existing programs. For more information on the Fund for New Orleans, click here. The Getty is also planning a two-day workshop on transitional planning for March.
The need for organizations to develop partnerships and an action plan for future disasters was discussed. The Task Force’s work in providing and coordinating information was noted as a springboard for future efforts.
The American Association for State and Local History has gathered reports from its History Emergency Assistance Recovery Teams and is matching volunteers with reported needs from institutions assessed by the HEART workers. The Association for Preservation Technology is fielding its fourth assessment team next week and will send a fifth team into the field on March 5. APT, which has been working with the Mississippi Department of History and Archives, is also looking for additional partner organizations to coordinate operations in the field.
Larry Reger, President of Heritage Preservation, noted that nine Conservation Assessment Program participants in affected areas have been approved under expedited review. Laura Word of the National Endowment for the Humanities said that although the initial $1 million in emergency grants has been exhausted, another $250,000 has been made available. The American Institute for Conservation is partnering with FEMA and the Louisiana Association of Museums to offer wet recovery workshops March 16 in New Orleans, March 17 in Baton Rouge, and March 20 is Natchitoches.
Ann Hitchcock of the National Park Service, who, on behalf of the Department of the Interior, coordinates the cultural resources response for the Natural and Cultural Resources and Historic Properties (NCH) component of ESF 11 for the 2005 hurricane season, reported that so far 35 federal employees have been sent to the Gulf Region under ESF 11 for cultural resources, mostly Park Service employees. The assignments are generally 30 to 60 days. Currently there are four cultural resources responders assigned to Louisiana and seven to Mississippi.
The next conference call date will be announced.
Highlights from the Conference Call on January 19, 2006
Damaged collections in New Orleans are still being discovered, and some are proving difficult to move, according to Alan Aiches of FEMA. Stabilization of collections first requires removing them from the damaged environment; institutions are having difficulty accomplishing this move, partly because some of them have made contracting arrangements that FEMA does not cover (such as bills tied to materials and labor).
A great deal of work remains to be done. A series of wet recovery workshops in Louisiana has been proposed for March, sponsored by the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. The workshops would be open to public and private nonprofits, with 30 to 40 participants per workshop. The program’s goal is to train at least 90 people in salvaging wet materials. Other partners in the program are the National Center for Preservation Training and Technology, the Louisiana Association of Museums, and FEMA.
Damage reports are still being filed in Florida from wind and wind-drive water damage caused by Hurricane Wilma. Historic properties have reported mostly external damage. FEMA’s Joint Field Office is working with the State Historic Preservation Officer and a National Park Service historic specialist. Four Bureau of Indian Affairs buildings on the Big Cypress reservation were damaged and are scheduled to be demolished.
The Association for Preservation Technology continues to field teams along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, working with the Mississippi Heritage Trust, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. A six-person team will be in Biloxi next week, and another team is scheduled for March. The teams are doing property assessments and giving advice about building stabilization. APT will be holding a symposium on wind and water damage at its conference in Atlanta in September.
The Department of the Interior will hold a recognition ceremony on January 25th to honor its employees who have participated in hurricane response.
The next conference call will be February 9, 2006.
Highlights from the Conference Call on January 5, 2006
With the holidays over, everyone is getting back to work along the Gulf Coast. In Florida, damage reports continue to come in, and officials are approving temporary housing sites. Texas is still recovering while battling wildfires; so far, no libraries are known to have been damaged by the fires.
Mississippi officials have reviewed over 230 sites for temporary housing and debris removal and are working on a contract with FEMA for debris removal and demolition. The State Historic Preservation Office is now reviewing debris removal and demolition requests for Section 106 compliance. At least eight volunteer teams have visited the coast to date, mainly preservation architects and engineers assessing damage. The teams’ reports are discussed with homeowners or left at the assessed buildings in plastic protectors. People are grateful that someone is interested in helping them, Deputy SHPO Ken P’Pool reported. More teams are scheduled this month, and the SHPO has opened an office in Biloxi to help residents there.
In Louisiana, Alan Aiches reported that collections issues appear to be under control for now and that projects should start to wind down in early summer. Jeff Kimball of the Center for Military History gave a report on his visit to Jackson Barracks in October and described how people from other National Guard museums helped with salvaging collections. The museum, which is in the Lower Ninth Ward, still needs help and temporary storage space. The state library in Louisiana is sponsoring a SOLINET workshop there; more will follow throughout the region.
Task Force members continue working to help recovery efforts. The National Park Service has issued an updated status report, and the Council of State Archivists is holding a meeting of state archivists from the Gulf Coast and mid-Atlantic in April to talk about regional disaster response. The National Archives is looking into funding statewide disaster program development. The American Library Association is planning an exhibit on Capitol Hill featuring images of libraries, some damaged and some serving evacuees. Alan Aiches has been invited to speak at the ALA midwinter meeting and said he is happy to speak to other groups about his experiences and the need to be better prepared.
Mr. P’Pool praised Brian Robinson and the Association for Preservation Technology teams for their assistance; Mr. Robinson said they were getting the volunteer process streamlined, but he wondered what to do with all the documentation the teams have gathered. Lawrence Reger, president of Heritage Preservation, said that the University of Southern Mississippi has announced it is setting up a hurricane center to document the effects of Katrina.
Several people shared their experiences working in affected areas. Ken Schoenberg, an NPS archaeologist from Anchorage, talked about his time in Biloxi with the Corps of Engineers doing clearances so that other agencies could proceed with their work. He said it was very rewarding work, and Mr. P’Pool remarked that he appreciated all their hard work making sure that debris removal did not have any adverse effect on archaeological sites. NPS has another team there now doing similar work. Kevin Walker of NPS said he was impressed by the attention paid to preservation in the recovery effort, especially how tireless the FEMA people were about Section 106 compliance while making sure the process didn’t impede recovery efforts. Andy Ferrell of the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training said he was astounded by how residents in New Orleans were cleaning up and being great stewards of their historic houses.
The Gulf Coast Neighborhoods Pattern Book published by Mississippi was recommended as a guide for developers even outside the region.
The next conference call will be January 19, 2006.
For summaries of previous conference calls, click here.
