LSU AgCenter’s
Hurricane Katrina
Disaster Recovery,
Education and Outreach
Strategic Plan
Agriculture and Forestry Damage Estimates
Forestry
Sugarcane
Cotton
$610,821,639
$191,681,159
$10,400,000
Rice
Dairy
Vegetables
$483,900
$1,046,398
$2,570,910
Wholesale Nurseries
Citrus
Cattle
Hunting Leases
$19,018,350
$10,780,800
$11,199,906
$3,829,657
Charter Fishing
$20,391,750
Fisheries Damage Estimates
Turtles
$5,355,000.00
Alligators
Oysters
Menhaden
Shrimp
$3,797,090.51
$25,163,024.86
$17,208,447.20
$72,115,066.55
Commercial Finfish
Crabs
$12,552,495.85
$15,150,697.90
Total Fisheries
$151,341,822
Total Preliminary Estimates
of Losses for Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries
$1,033,566,289
How can Extension help?
• Prior Planning
• Immediate Disaster Response
• Long-Term Planning
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LSU AgCenter Priorities
AgCenter programs back in place statewide
We must go into affected areas as soon as we are allowed
We must immediately begin education and outreach efforts to assist in
recovery
Parish Chairs to establish contact immediately with local government
organizations such as: police jury, school board, district attorney, and
parish president
Parish Chairs meet with parish president so agents can go back in
early in affected areas when evacuees are moving back home
4-H agents should contact school superintendent’s immediately to
alert them of AgCenter disaster recovery youth development programs
AgCenter faculty from each parish should setup face to face meetings
with local legislators to make them aware of AgCenter strategic plan
Pair up agents in affected areas with mentor agents to assist in
contacting local government and fulfilling recovery responsibilities, if
needed
Allow agents from other parishes to come in and relieve affected
agents that have to take care of their own recovery
Leadership training for agents willing to assist in AgCenter disaster
recovery efforts
LSU AgCenter Immediate Steps:
• Disaster Recovery – Frankie Gould
• Family Financial Management – Jeanette Tucker
• LaHouse and Rebuild Stronger, Safer, Smarter
Initiative – Claudette Reichel
• Youth Development - Mark Tassin
• Farm Financial Management – Kurt Guidry
• Veterinary Response Program – Christine
Navarre
• Dairy Recovery – Gary Hay
• Forestry Recovery – Rich Vlosky
• Fisheries Recovery – Mike Liffman
Disaster Recovery
• A series of 20 radio PSAs have been developed and distributed
to radio stations across Louisiana and posted to the web
• A series of faculty have been identified to conduct radio
interviews that range from finances and stress to mold and
rebuilding homes with the displaced New Orleans radio
stations such as WWL
• A new section was added to the news web site called storm and
flood news. There are currently 27 news stories related to
disaster recovery and new stories are added daily. These news
stories will also be repurposed into a disaster recovery inserts
to be distributed to the major newspapers in the state.
• 100,000 copies of Disaster Recovery Series and Cleaning
Flood-damaged Homes will be printed and distributed to shelter
volunteers, agents, and affected citizens.
• An AgCenter Disaster Recovery toll free hotline is being
developed to address disaster recovery issues and concerns
Disaster Recovery Series
The Disaster recovery series combines 25 fact
sheets into one publication that has six chapters.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
They are:
Be Safe: Stay Healthy after a Disaster
Surviving and Recovering from a Power
Outage
Restoring Storm-damaged Buildings
Salvaging Water-damaged Belongings
Lawn and Garden Losses
Financial Recovery and Risk Management
Disaster Recovery
• A disaster recovery Web portal is in place.
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/family_home/hazards_and_threats/recovery_assistance
Family Financial Management
• To assist affected residents in rebuilding their lives, the
AgCenter is delivering programs to educate and empower
citizens to identify and manage available financial, community
and personal resources.
• Workshops are being conducted to educate citizens to:
• Create and follow budgets
• Use credit and financial institutions/products wisely
• Make wise decisions
• Set goals
• Protect their identity
• Improve employment skills
• Initial delivery will be targeted to residents of shelters,
particularly limited resource families and those who receive
public assistance.
• The secondary audience will include the working poor and
families who are now receiving public assistance as a result of
the impact of Hurricane Katrina.
LaHouse and Rebuild Stronger, Safer, Smarter Initiative
1. Home Restoration information dissemination:
– via CMS (family and home), media outreach and publications:
– Storm Recovery Guide for Homeowners -- newly updated, combines
Natural Hazard Series into one comprehensive publication
– Cleaning Flood Damage Homes - brief
2. Rebuild Stronger, Safer, Smarter Initiative -- to create more hazardresistant and energy efficient homes that will help Katrina victims take
control of their future by the quality of housing they return to.
– Facilitate and participate in interagency rebuilding task force
– Collaborate with top building scientists in nation to develop guidance
and training curricula
– Conduct consumer educational campaign with LaHouse
– Work with national and regional organizations to provide training for
home builders, designers, inspectors and affordable housing
developers
– Establish LaHouse as regional educational attraction, training center
and information clearinghouse
Youth Development
• The 4-H program can offer an opportunity for youth to reconnect
to family and a new community in these settings. The program will
be implemented based on a needs assessment from shelter
managers.
• Programs will be delivered in shelters in group settings in a
hands-on experiential format. Evacuees in the schools will be
included in the regular delivery of 4-H in school clubs, school
enrichment, and after-school programming.
• 4-H activities, lessons, games, and events to include focus on:
– Character education (conflict resolution)
– Team building
– Leadership development
– Healthy lifestyles (stress management and fitness/nutrition)
– Homework and tutoring assistance.
Youth Development
• The programs will be made available to children kindergarten
through 12th grade, youth enrolled in new schools, youth in
shelters, shelter volunteers, 4-H volunteers, volunteer agency
personnel, 4-H teen leaders and 4-H agents.
• Our faculty have been in contact with shelters to determine the
number of evacuees in shelter locations and the anticipated
stay of evacuees.
• Parish staff will contact parish shelter organizations to
determine numbers of pre-K to 12th grade youth and identify
their needs.
• 4-H agents will be instructed to contact the school
superintendent’s to alert schools of the AgCenter’s youth
development programs.
Farm Financial Management
• The areas affected the greatest by Hurricane Katrina represent
a large portion of Louisiana’s fisheries, dairy, sugarcane,
forestry, wildlife, vegetable, nursery, and citrus industries.
• Shortly after the storm, the LSU AgCenter began to develop
assessments of the potential damage caused to the
agricultural, fisheries, and forestry industries in the state.
• The AgCenter will be offering farm financial workshops to
assist agricultural producers in gathering information on
government assistance programs, recovery of operations,
marketing, stress management and other topics.
– These workshops will include discussions from the LSU
AgCenter, USDA – Farm Service Agency, USDA – Natural
Resources Conservation Service, Farm Bureau and other
agencies.
– Producers will have the opportunity to identify concerns
and ask questions on issues specific to their situations.
Veterinary Response Program
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Animal disposal and disease will be major challenges in the immediate
term for agriculture producers.
Immediate steps that will be taken by the Extension Veterinary
Program include:
– Continuing communications with State Veterinarians Office,
College of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana Veterinary Medical
Association, and private practitioners and respond to needs as
appropriate.
– Placing information on AgCenter website about potential disease
problems following wind and flood damage.
– Sending information veterinarians about potential disease
problems following wind and flood damage.
– Assisting with plans for proper animal carcass disposal.
In the intermediate term the Extension Veterinary Program plans to:
– Respond to developing animal disease problems in affected areas.
– Continue to inform the veterinarians and the public of developing
animal diseases due to the hurricane.
Dairy Recovery
• The AgCenter estimates over $1 million in income losses in the
Louisiana dairy industry.
– Much of this loss is the result of the loss of milk that
producers were forced to dump week because they were
without enough electric power to operate their coolers.
– The immediate concern is for the infrastructure – physical
damage to facilities and no electricity for milking the cows
and cooling milk.
• AgCenter specialists and agents formed the Dairy Recovery
Team and have been working diligently to look for power
supplies for dairy operations.
• Information on animal health and waste management will be
available to affected producers.
• Financial workshops will also be conducted to assist dairy
producers in gathering information on government assistance
programs, recovery of operations, marketing, stress
management and other topics.
Forestry Recovery
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The AgCenter currently estimates $611 million in economic losses in
the Louisiana forestry sector due to a loss in stumpage (1.4 billion
board feet of pine and 1.1 billion board feet of hardwoods). Given an
economic multiplier of 3.8 for this sector, total economic losses can
well be over $2 Billion.
In the near-term, the AgCenter is deeply involved in forest recovery
efforts through participation with the Louisiana Forest Restoration
Task Force headed by the Louisiana Forestry Association and the
Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
– The mission of the task force is to facilitate salvage efforts to
maximize the recovery of timber damaged by the hurricane and to
begin the process of renewing the forest. Also represented on the
Task Force are timber companies, loggers, LA Logging Council,
DOTD, consulting foresters, USFS, NRCS, FSA, and MS State
logging specialists.
– The AgCenter has representatives on the following committees:
logging, wood utilization, communications, forest health and
regeneration, governmental affairs, and data collection and
reporting. The AgCenter is represented on these committees.
– The AgCenter is setting up a Task Force Listserv to facilitate
communication coordination.
Forestry Recovery
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The AgCenter will also be offering workshops to assist forestry
producers in gathering information on government assistance
programs, recovery of operations, marketing, stress management,
financial issues and other topics. These workshops will include
discussions from the LSU AgCenter, USDA – Farm Service Agency,
USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service, Louisiana Forestry
Association, Farm Bureau and other agencies.
Fisheries Recovery
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Estimates of losses in revenue stemming from production losses
caused by Katrina exceed $150 million.
The most affected fisheries are shrimp, oysters, menhaden, crabs, and
commercial finfish.
The AgCenter will develop post-event characterization of the
commercial industry, post-event characterization of the commercial
industry--displacements, relocations, impacts, outlook for the
commercial industry, and event impact on recreational sector.
The AgCenter will be offering fisheries financial workshops to assist
commercial fisherman in gathering information on government
assistance programs as they are made available, recovery of
operations, marketing, stress management and other topics.
– These workshops will include discussions from the LSU AgCenter,
USDA – Farm Service Agency, USDA – Natural Resources
Conservation Service, NOAA – Fisheries, Farm Bureau and other
agencies. Fisherman will have the opportunity to identify concerns
and ask questions on issues specific to their situations.
Mid-Term and Long-Term Strategy
• The AgCenter will continue with its traditional programs to
provide mid-term long-term educational information to help
affected citizens.
• These program areas include:
– Community Development – Deborah Tootle
– Family and Consumer Sciences – Beth Gambel
– Callegari Center – Bill Carney
– Horticulture – Allan Morgan
– LaHouse – Claudette Reichel
• The audience is all affected citizens including:
– shelters
– families relocating
– families who stayed in the affected parishes
– temporary housing communities of evacuees
Community Development
• Will include educational programming and
assistance for rebuilding communities and
businesses.
• AgCenter faculty will conduct programs on
minimizing disaster stress at the community
level, communicating with disaster victims,
leadership, strategic planning,
entrepreneurship, workplace development.
Family and Consumer Sciences
• Goals are to:
– improve the well being of family members within
individual families;
– improve the well being of groups of individuals
living is the shelter community;
– help shelter residents develop a sense of future
• The AgCenter has developed information dealing
with home care and restoration, food safety,
personal safety, financial management, stress
reduction, and job preparedness which is included in
Disaster Recovery Series
Callegari Center
• Can provide analytical testing of drinking
water for safety purposes along with
identifying contaminates in runoff water.
• The Center's faculty is able to help identify
proper clean up and disposal options of solid
waste to include downed trees and other
foliage, feces, dead animals, spoiled food,
and sludge.
Horticulture
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Developed materials to assist:
– affected residents and homeowners
– businesses
– nurserymen
– general horticulture industry
– arborists
– golf course superintendents
– parish public works personnel
Information will include:
– landscape salvage, repair, renovation, and pruning;
– tree trimming, repair and renewal;
– insurance claims for lost trees;
– turf grass and soil repair/renovation;
– approaches to dealing with soil salinity and contaminated, waterlogged soils
Much of this information is included in the Disaster Recovery Series
We plan to utilize AgCenter faculty and Master Gardener volunteers to
conduct workshops.
LaHouse
• LaHouse is here to spur the rebuilding of safer, stronger, smarter
homes and communities for Katrina storm victims through
educational outreach and training on locally appropriate, hazardresistant and energy efficient building science and technologies.
• LaHouse will be used as an educational center to demonstrate
appropriate technologies for rebuilding.
• The LaHouse will educate affected residents on how to have
MORE comfort, durability, value, convenience, and better health
with LESS energy, water, pollution, waste, and property damage.
• This Rebuild Initiative should specifically address that felt need
and enable storm victims to take control of their future by the
quality of housing they return to. See www.LouisianaHouse.org.