Learning from Disaster: Response and Reaction to Crisis
Iowa Disaster Recovery Conference
December 9-10, 2008; Coralville, Iowa
1.
Introduction
Good morning. I want to thank the Iowa Downtown Resource Center for inviting me here today.
2.
NTHP
As the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s liaison to Iowa, I witnessed firsthand the damage
caused by this summer’s flooding, and have been working with preservation partners in the state
to help historic communities recover and rebuild.
3.
NTHP
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a non-profit membership organization bringing
people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. We work to help
revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote
environmental sustainability. The Midwest Office in Chicago provides leadership, education,
advocacy and resources to an eight-state region. For more information, please visit our website
PreservationNation.org
4.
Experience
As the country’s leading national preservation nonprofit, the National Trust for Historic
Preservation has provided assistance to many historic communities impacted by disasters. We are
committed to playing an active role in responding to catastrophic disasters, assisting affected
neighborhoods to rebuild and stabilize cultural resources and older and historic communities, and
supporting full compliance with Section 106 review under the National Historic Preservation Act
in the aftermath of any natural or man-made disaster.
5.
Gulf Coast
Perhaps the most well-known disaster recovery effort in recent years has been revitalization of the
Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. Working with our partners in Louisiana and Mississippi,
particularly the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans or PRC, the National Trust has
played a leadership role in this recovery, establishing a New Orleans Field Office to provide on
the ground assistance, and operating the HOME AGAIN! program.
6.
Home Again
HOME AGAIN! provides direct technical assistance and funding to low and moderate income
owners of historic properties. Since late 2005 we have helped 11 different families reclaim their
homes and restart their lives, and we are currently working with 7 new projects. Our HOME
AGAIN! efforts are concentrated in the Holy Cross neighborhood in the 9th Ward of New Orleans
and are intended to be a catalyst for neighborhood renewal and a demonstration to a watching city
and world of the viability of New Orleans' historic neighborhoods.
7.
Story
The HOME AGAIN program was able to help families like the Alexanders. Four weeks after
Hurricane Katrina, Jamar and Andre Alexander visited their family home in the New Marigny
historic district of New Orleans. Amidst the devastation, they began removing ruined furniture and
bleaching mold. A “Welcome Home” kit from the National Trust and PRC including cleaning
supplies and information was helpful, and the Trust’s Program Officer Kevin Mercadel also
visited the home. By the end of the first day, the Alexanders had saved the baseboards and frame
work, and they never looked back, agreeing to be part of the National Trust and PRC HOME
AGAIN! project.
8.
Story
After months of working with insurance inspectors, contractors, FEMA and other officials – as
well as the National Trust and PRC and their teams of volunteer engineers, architects and builders
– the Alexanders are starting to imagine the day when they will close their FEMA trailers and
move permanently back into the big house. They rewired, patched the stucco, replaced the tile
roof, painted, replanted the large garden, drywalled the interior, redid the plumbing and worked
conscientiously to save the 19th century home's fine features. Andre thinks HOME AGAIN! is
"showing people like our neighbors who have decided to come back that we can live in our houses
and our neighborhood again."
9.
Key lessons learned
The experience of the Alexanders and countless other New Orleans families that have rehabilitated
and reclaimed their neighborhoods provides valuable lessons to those facing the difficult task of
preserving disaster-damaged historic properties. Today I want to share some of what the National
Trust has learned from our involvement in the Gulf Coast and across the country helping historic
communities recover from disasters, particularly catastrophic flooding.
10. Avoid demolition
In the immediate wake of a disaster, there is almost always an urge to wipe the impacted area
clean through demolition. While life safety should be everyone’s top priority, the wholesale
clearance of damaged properties is not in the community’s best interest. Historic structures were
built of very solid materials often unavailable or cost-prohibitive today, and usually hold up
remarkably well to flooding and high winds. Demolition of structurally sound historic buildings is
not only wasteful; it deprives the community of its sense of place. This is an important touchstone
for those who have lived through a disaster and seen their lives upended. A sense of home and
community is not easy to replace, and every care should be taken not to make rash decisions that
would unnecessarily destroy neighborhoods.
11. Hope & awareness
When historic resources have been damaged by a disaster, it is critical that preservationists first
convey a message of hope, and work to raise awareness of the importance of the impacted cultural
resources and the positive benefits of rehabilitation. Enlist help from preservation partners at the
local, state, and national level. Try to find other communities that have faced a similar situation
and rebounded, and have their elected officials and preservationists speak with your community
and the media. Raise awareness of the importance of key historic properties that have been
damaged, and if necessary, do a survey of the affected areas to identify potentially eligible historic
resources.
12. Second opinions
One of the first actions usually taken by municipalities is to assess and tag damaged buildings.
Many times, these assessment teams do not include professionals familiar with historic
construction methods, and some properties that could be saved may be mistakenly tagged for
demolition. If necessary, preservationists should provide professional expertise to these
assessment teams or work with the city to get second opinions on significant historic properties.
13. Provide useful info for property owners
Reach out to property owners who will be making urgent decisions about whether to rehabilitate
or demolish. Provide them with tools and cleaning materials, and with the technical assistance and
information they need to make an informed decision. This handout, distributed in Cedar Rapids
this summer, included compelling before-and-after images of rehabilitated properties and listed
some of the critical factors to consider when deciding whether to repair or demolish.
14. Publication
The National Trust also offers a free publication entitled Treatment of Flood-damaged Older and
Historic Buildings available as a download from PreservationBooks.org. Obviously, disaster
victims usually do not have easy access to the internet, so preservationists should make copies and
distribute to residents through disaster centers and all other available outlets.
15. Volunteers
Solicit and coordinate a preservation volunteer force to help assess the condition of key properties,
counsel homeowners, provide technical information, and extend moral support to impacted residents as
soon as possible after the water recedes. The National Trust and its Partner organizations can sometimes
assist in soliciting such volunteers. Distribute cleanup supplies and mold remediation kits to the
residents of flooded historic neighborhoods as soon as possible. Kits are available from the United
Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Move swiftly to order such supplies as soon as possible.
16. Workshops
Workshops are an excellent way to provide information and guidance to property owners and link
them with experts in various fields. Make sure to provide information on financial resources at the
local, state, and federal level, so that property owners understand the preservation incentives. It
may also be necessary to reach out to insurance companies and educate them on the different
standards for replacement materials in locally designated historic districts, as Iowa City did
following an April 2006 tornado.
17. Demonstration rehab
Undertaking a demonstration rehab in an affected neighborhood is a powerful way to demonstrate
to the community that preservation is possible, and that the neighborhood can rebound. This can
also often be accomplished through the help of volunteer teams, but be sure the teams are
supervised by leaders well-versed in preservation practices. All too often, well meaning
volunteers remove historic fabric just because they’re not sure what they’re looking at.
18. Business assistance
Don’t forget special assistance for historic commercial areas. It can be difficult to draw customers
back to a damaged commercial area, particularly when people aren’t sure if businesses have reopened. Business recovery workshops and one-on-one consultations from disaster survivors can
be extremely helpful, along with marketing to let people know their favorite shops and restaurants
are open again.
19. Work w/ civic leaders and govt agencies (FEMA, Corps)
It’s also important for preservationists to work with civic leaders and government agencies at the
local, state, and federal level, making them aware of affected historic resources and getting
involved in recovery planning as early as possible in the process. It is usually wise to encourage
the municipality to retain control of clean up and any necessary demolition decisions rather than
delegating wholesale decision-making to federal agencies or third party contractors. Assist the
municipality in communicating clearly and consistently with residents of impacted properties
regarding the appropriate treatment of historically designated and eligible properties, and always
encourage transparency and participation in the decision-making process.
20. Regulatory
Preservationists should also remind local officials that the State Historic Preservation Office must review
any demolition or relocation of a property listed on or determined eligible for the National Register of
Historic Places, if FEMA or any other federal agency is providing funds or permits for that action. This
also provides an opportunity for volunteer reviews by the National Trust and other preservation partners
as consulting parties to a Memorandum of Agreement that governs the process of demolition. It is also
important to encourage civic leaders to keep in place the capacity and authority of local historic
preservation commissions and to maintain design review standards that insure quality rehabilitation.
This will pay significant dividends in the future value and character of historic neighborhoods.
21. Regulatory 2
Because federal regulations typically require rehabilitated buildings within the 100 year flood plain to
elevate their occupied floors above that level, preservationists should remind civic leaders and FEMA
staff of the exemption opportunity for properties listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic
Places. Implementation of this exemption requires an appropriate ordinance by local government. If
properly done, such an exemption still enables the property owner to obtain Federal Flood Insurance.
For more information, see FEMA’s website or PreservationNation’s webpage on the Midwest Floods.
22. Salvage
When demolition of a historic property is unavoidable, encourage deconstruction and salvage of unique
architectural elements and other valuable traditional building materials for later use in rehabilitation of
other properties. Following a 2006 tornado, the Friends of Historic Preservation in Iowa City offered
free historic building materials from their Salvage Barn to property owners restoring their damaged
homes.
23. Work w/ state and federal elected officials
It’s also important for preservationists to work with their elected officials in support of disaster recovery
legislation. The National Trust can often lend our national voice to local efforts working in this regard.
Preservationists should support efforts to secure special emergency legislation and appropriations at the
state and/or federal level, providing much needed assistance and sustaining capital resources to insure
recovery.
24. Legislation
Large-scale disasters can also prompt Congressional action in support of increased federal historic tax
credits or preservation grants. Constituents affected by this summer’s flooding in the Midwest were
successful in urging Congress to pass a special increase in the federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit
from 20% to 26% for flood-impacted historic properties. Any state or federal grant programs targeted to
historic areas should include sufficient budget allocations to assure that the State Historic Preservation
Office and other involved agencies have an adequate budget to administer the program properly.
25. Preparation
Since disaster preparedness is being covered in other sessions, I won’t address it too much here, but it is
worth mentioning that communities which have conducted adequate and up-to-date surveys of historic
resources are better prepared to deal with a disaster, since the identification of historically eligible
properties will expedite the process significantly. The National Trust for Historic Preservation
encourages communities and State Historic Preservation Offices to regularly update survey data in
potential flood zones to be better prepared should waters rise.
26. Emergency Management Coordinator
It would also be wise for preservationists to get to know their county emergency management
coordinator. Coordinators have a vital role in the preparation for, response to, and recovery from
disasters. They provide coordination of local resources and work in partnership with Homeland
Security Emergency Management to ensure communities have adequately planned and are wellequipped, trained, and exercised. County disaster plans are supposed to include a cultural resource
component, but few do. Contact information for your county emergency coordinator is available
online at www.iowahomelandsecurity.org.
27. Summary
Sometimes only in the wake of a disaster do we truly realize how important our historic
neighborhoods are to our sense of home and community. The good news is that historic resources
are resilient, and damaged properties can be saved through dedication and hard work. The other
good news is that many other communities have survived disasters and are now flourishing, and a
national network of preservationists stands poised to help. We recognize that disaster recovery is
a balancing act requiring the consideration of many variables, particularly health and safety, but
the importance of historic properties to the economic development and character of your
community should not be forgotten.