Jayanthi Jayakumar
Mission 2010
AFX News Limited. (2005). “Brit Insurance Says Hurricane Katrina Could Cost Insurers 50 Bln Usd.” Retrieved September 15, 2006, from AFX.COM
In this article, the Brit Insurance Holdings PLC estimated a cost of up to fifty billion dollars for insurance companies after all the claims of Hurricane Katrina. This article explores the potential losses the insurance companies would face and its impact on the market. The information presented in this article will help us evaluavate what the insurance rates should be in high risk areas so that the insurance ompanies don't go bankrupt every time there is a natural disaster.
National Climatic Data Center. (2005). “Climate of 2005 – Summary of Hurricane Katrina.” Retrieved September 15, 2006, from the US Department of Commerce website
This article provides the history of the development of Hurricane Katrina from its beginning as a tropical depression in Bahamas to it picking up speed and power in the warm waters of Gulf of Mexico. This article also goes through and discusses the impacts of Katrina and how it especially affected the oil industry. This article not only helps us lean background information about Hurricane Katrina but also the economic impact it has on New Orleans.
New Orleans City Council. (2006). “Census Bureau Reports Area's Changing Demographics.” Retrieved September 15, 2006 from the New Orleans City Council website
This website offers information about the demographics of New Orleans pre and post Hurricane Katrina. The information provided on this website can help us evaluavate the insurance cost and how much government aid should be involved in covering the insurance.
Hurricane Recovery Advisory Committee. (2006). “Rebuilding Trust and Accountability Through Actions.” Retrieved September 15, 2006 from the New Orleans City Council website
This committee advices the New Orleans City Council on how to rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina. This committee's website states its mission and provides information on how it plans to carry it though. Their information can help guide us in figuring out the positives and negatives of their steps and how we can help modify our insurance rates.
The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. (2005). “Hurricane Katrina Poses Unique Challenge to Insurance Industry.” Retrieved September 17, 2006 from PBS Online News Hour <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/july-dec05/katrina/insurance_background.html>.
This website estimates the insurance cost to reach between twenty billion dollars and thirty five billion dollars. Furthermore, this article explores the difference between wind-damage and flooding, where insurance only covers wind-damage and FEMA has the National Flood Insurance Program. Thus, a new problem with insurance coverage arises and gives our team a better idea where the problem is in overing the insurance cost.
Woods, C. (2005). American Quarterly, Vol 57, No. 4, “Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans?: Katrina, Trap Economics, and the Rebirth of the Blues.”
This article talks about how there is still a strong racial divide in the United States and how it is especially exemplified due to the lack of action to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina by the government. This article is written in depth about how many and how much the lives of African Americans were affected and how they are just not receiving the help they need. We can, again, use the information provided in this article to gage our insurance cost and how much the government should be involved in rebuilding New Orleans.
Tillett, T. (2006). Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 114, No. 1. “Beyond the Bench: COEPs Contribute to Hurricane Relief”. Published by: The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
The staff of Community Outreach and Education Programs were among the first to help out in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The work COEPs did to help shows that not all of the aid needs to come from the government and the insurance agencies. It also gave us the idea to help start committees and organizations that could step in and effectively help out during natural disaster.
Lougheed, T. (2006). Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 114, No. 1, “Raising the Bar for Levees.” in Evironews; Innovations.
This article explores the different levees that can be built using new innovative technologies. Furthermore, it compares the similarities in the situation between New Orleans and the Dutch and talks about how the Dutch improved their levee system. This topic deeply affects insurance cost because depending on the strength and effectiveness of the levee system, the insurance cost will not raise as drastically as it would if the new levee system is not that good.
Cohen, H. (1951). American Speech, Vol. 26, No. 2, “The Terminology of Mardi Gras.” Tulane University.
This article explores the tradition of Mardi Gras in New Orleans since its beginning in the 1850's. It also goes though and explains some of the common terminology of Mardi Gras and reminds us that this rich tradition can be lost in time if New Orleans cannot be restored. Thus, it gives us an idea of how the insurance cost should be adjusted so the culture and the people of New Orleans can stay there and evolve.
Mahoney, M. (1990). Stanford Law Review, Vol 42, No. 5. “Law and Racial Geography: Public Housing and the Economy in New Orleans.”
According to this article, by the early 1960s, the national public housing population was more than fifty percent black. This article describes the segregatory process in which white people and jobs left the city and the black people remained behind without many job opportuniteies in the cities. This article also presents history of New Orleans' public housing, geography, economy and how it affected race. The information in this article can again be used to gage the home insurance cost for people living especially in the dangerous, poverty-stricken area.
Special Reports. (2006). “Hurricane Katrina.” Retrieved September 21, 2006. BBC. <http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/amercas/05/katrina/html/default.stm>.
This special report tracks the Hurricane Katrina from its beginning to its ladfall to its effects. Its diagrams, details and information can be used by our team to evaluate what went wrong and how this should affect the insurance.
Bulletin-FAL (2005). ECLAC. Issue No. 231, “Hurricane Katrina and its Impact on Latin America.” United Nations. <http://www.eclac.cl/Transporte/noticias/bolfall/7/23237/FAL231.htm>.
This article explores all the negative impacts of Hurricane Katrina on the economy of New Orleans including oil production and the signifance of the ports of New Orleans. This information will help us decide what sort of insurance incentive is necessary for buisness to come back to Louisiana and prosper there.
Rev. Daniel Buford. Meiklejohn Civil Libeties Institute, International Association of Democratic Lawyers, Peoples Institute, and Allen Temple (2006). “Letter to the members of the UN Human Rights
Committee.”
This letter explains the human rights violations felt by the victims of Hurricane Katrina. It explains that the hardest hit areas were homes of African Americans, poor people and the elderly. Furthermore, this article describes in detail the specific violations felt by African American people in New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina. All of this, stresses the importance of how much the home insurance cost will affect the resettlement of these people in their old homes. It puts the insurance companies in a tough place between charging high prices for people living in risky areas and lower prices for poor people.
“World Needs To Draw Lessons of Hurricane Katrina.” August 29, 2006. Department of Public Insurance. News and Media Division. New York. United Nations.
<http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/iha1231.doc.htm>
This article talks about how the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina should be used globally to prevent and be prepared for diasters that might occur globally. It also shows us how our insurance ideas should be applicable to atleast other coastal cities in the United States that face similar dangers as New Orleans.
McLaughlin, E. (2006). CNN-Hurricane Katrina, “A Year Later, recover in New Orleans not essay.” USA. < http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/08/29/katrina.anniversary/index.html>.
This article talks about how a year later, New Orleans is “The Tale of Two Cities” where certain parts are recovered fully while others look like the hurricane just hit. Therefore, this gives us a clear goal of getting a combination of the insurance companies and the government to help rebuild all of New Orleans and restore it.
Tidwell, Mike. Bayou Farewell – The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana's Cajun Coast. Copy Right 2003, Vintage Books; A Division of Random House, Inc., NY.
This book explores the rich history of Louisiana, including its many traditions, deep-rooted culture, and its vernacular language. On page eleven, Tidwell explains the word “Bayou” to mean “sluggish, slow-moving stream,” thus connecting the environment to the culture. The marshes, salty ground water and the swamp land seem to be eroding away, slowly eating away Louisiana. On page twenty nine, Tidwell explains how an entire cemetary is sinking in marshlands and water when sixty years ago they were buried in “high land.” Throughout this book, Tidwell explains how life in Loiusiana is family-centered and is filled with people who just want to have a good time. But at the same time, he explains how Louisina is eroding away due to the environment. This book helps us answer the question of whether people have to move and if we have to consider safety over culture.
Zebrowski, E., & Howard, J., Category 5. 2005. The University of Michigan Press, USA.
On the heels of Camille, the federal government created FEMA and the flood insurance to help out future disasters. However, there has not been even a single issuance of the flood insurance policy and Katrina, which is “dubbed as the evil daughter of Camille” proved that the government's policy are not effective. This book compares the similarities between Camille and Katrina and anaylzes the aftermath of Camille and if we have more effective and improved policy now.
Environmental Conditions and Resources of Southwestern Mississippi. 1970. Department of Interior, US Geological Survey, Geographic Applications Program. US Government Printing Office,
Washington DC.
This document talks about the history of New Orleans, how it was settled in the past and its climate and geography. Looking at the past of New Orleans can help us asses the what the insurance should be in the future because of the changing landscapes.
Crossett, K., Culliton, T., Wiley, P., & Goodspeed, T., Population Trends Along the Coastal United States. US Department of Commerce; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. National
Ocean Service.
This document is an accumalation of maps that show the demographics of New Orleans. This can help our group figure out who lives where, which areas were affected and how the two are related to each other. Using this information, we can asses the tax, insurance rates and settlement of different areas of New Orleans.
Kelman, A., A River and Its City- The Nature of Landscape in New Orleans. 2003. University of Calfornia Press Ltd. The Regents of University of California.
“Too often, urban space and landscapes are portrayed exclusively as socially produced, as products of only human efforts. As long as this remains the case, as long as cities are seen only as social artifacts, we will ignore the importance of urban nature and culture. For this reason, we need to appreciate the depth of history embedded in landscapes such as the waterfront; doing so provides a useful corrective, a reminder of the non-human or ecological dimension of urban space.”
National Flood Insurance Guide. Federal Emergency Management Agency. <http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/housing/natl-flood/insurance.htm>.
This website, created and managed by FEMA, provides simple and clear information on what, how, who, and why to get the National Flood Insurance Plan. The average premium for NFIP is about 370 dollars per year and homeowners get up to $250,000 in building coverage and $100,000 in contents coverage. After reading this website, it became clear that the NFIP is actually a well-thought out plan and the problem seems to be that people either don't know about it or choose not to get it. One of our team goals should be directed towards educating people about the different insurance plans available to them through their insurance agents or create an agency that would teach them.
New Orleans city, Louisiana – Fact Sheet. US Census Bureau. 2005.
This is a US Census Bureau website that gives all the information on the demographics of New Orleans pre Hurricane Katrina. According to the data from this website, 67.5% of New Orleans is Black/ African American, and about 21.8% of the population of New Orleans is under the poverty line. Louisiana is one of the most poverty-stricken states in the United States and New Orleans has one of the highest rates. This clearly gives us an idea of how many people can even afford home insurance or rebuild their houses according to new building codes. It poses us with new problems on how we are adapt our plans so the residents of New Orleans would neither live without home insurance and buildings that don't match the new building codes or move out of New Orleans. This data shows us how important it is to preserve the New Orleans culture while also trying to adopt an insurance plan that can be afforded and implemented.
Martin, Susan. “A Home That Rises With The Water.” St. Petersburg Times Online. November 7, 2005. <http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/07/Worldandnation/A_home_that_rises_wit.shtml>.
In this article, Martin talks about a plan that is actually being put in action in the Netherlands with floating homes, that rise with the sea level. Although it is still unclear about how much wind these houses can withstand, the adaptation of the plans for these houses can help overcome flood damage caused by the Mississippi River in New Orleans every year. As of now, these houses cost more money to build than the average value of the houses that already exist in New Orleans. However, with a little bit more time, and better technologies, it is very possible to make these houses available to the people in New Orleans and this will as a result lower the flood insurance for the people.
24. “List of products shown in the Disaster Survival Home”. State Farm Insurance. <http://www.statefarm.com/_pdf/list.pdf>.
The Disaster Survival Home is actually a home in Florida, that is open to house tours and etc. and this house is model house designed to withstand most hurricane and wind damage. Not only can the ideas and plans from this model house can be used in the process of rebuilding New Orleans, but the State Farm website provides a “list of products” that can be used to just generally increase the safety of homes. Of those, the wind and hurricane safety is particularly applicable to New Orleans.
25. “Flood Insurance”. KT Homes and Loans INC. October 22, 2006.<http://www.homesnloans.com/FAQ/Flood_Insurance/flood_insurance.html>.
According to this website, the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 made flood insurance mandatory for buildings that are located in the Special Flood Hazard Areas and are backed by federal loans. The lenders must notify the owners of these buildings that NFIP is mandatory and they have forty five days to buy it before its forced upon them.
According to the TSARP, the federal government already makes flood insurance mandatory on houses that it assists to rebuild after a federally declared flood disaster. This goes perfectly with our plan because we wanted to make the flood insurance mandatory for New Orleans, and other coastal regions. However, we were not sure if it was possible to make insurance mandatory; but this premission to go on with our plans. Another issue now is how some of the people who can't afford insurance but are forced to buy NFIP are going to afford it. We are currently looking into government subsidized housing which will help lower the rent and the NFIP for the people. Also, this website is a great resource for maps on the different flood insurance rates for the different parts of New Orleans.
“Lower Ninth Ward: Housing and House Costs”. Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. October 24, 2006 . <http://www.gnocdc.org/orleans/8/22/housing.html>.
This website provides different statistical data about the Lower Ninth Ward. According to this website, about 60% of the people in LNW own their homes and this rate is higher than other areas in the city. Also, about 60% of the houses in LNW were built before the 1950s, as opposed to the rest of the country with 30% built before 1950s. This clearly suggests that the building codes need to be updated and enforced regulary. If some of the old homes are updated and taken care of better, we could not only protect the history but also provide the homes protection from the annual flooding of the Mississippi River.
“New Orleans, Louisiana – Economy”. Wikipedia. October 24, 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_orleans#Economy>.
According this article from Wikipedia, one of New Orleans's main economies is tourism. The Port of New Orleans and Port of South Louisiana together make the fourth largest ports, and New Orleans also stands as 5th in the oil production and 8th in the oil reserves industries. It also holds two Fortune 500 companies and hosts the NASA. Also, after Hurricane Katrina, a Trump International Hotel and Tower is being planned on being built in New Orleans. All of these economic opportunities show that there are opportunities in New Orleans, and provides us with an assistance on what sort of industry we can encourage more to develop in New Orleans.