St Bernard Parish Library Fema Funds

More Than $3.6 Million in Public Assistance for St. Bernard Parish Public Library http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=28382 Release Date: July 31, 2006 Release Number: 1603-517 » More Information on Louisiana Hurricane Katrina » More Information on Louisiana Hurricane Rita NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Many residents of St. Bernard Parish lost a valuable source for research and reading when the St Bernard Public Library was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. But help is on the way. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that more than $3.6 million in funds have been made available for the library’s destroyed and damaged contents and for building repairs. Located in the town of Chalmette, at 1125 E. St. Bernard Highway, the library building was inundated with four feet of standing water from Katrina. The funds will be used to replace books, multi-media equipment, computers, and office and library supplies. “The funds will help us replace what was lost,” said St. Bernard Parish Chief of Staff Charlie Reppel. “We are on our way to returning to normalcy.” A National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claim settlement of more than $431,000 will provide additional resources for materials and repairs to the property. Jim Stark, FEMA’s Director of the Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office said, “Libraries add to the vitality of a community. The restoration back to an operating library will be another step in the recovery of St. Bernard Parish.” Reppel said the library has also received a donation of a bookmobile from New Bern, North Carolina. “We are very pleased to have it. It is in excellent shape and it has been refurbished,” he said. St. Bernard Parish sent two drivers to North Carolina to pick up the donated bookmobile, which arrived in Louisiana last week. Help was literally on the way when a semi-truck driver who had a load coming to Louisiana from Virginia offered to transport a donation to the library of 2,500 books free of charge. Many will go onto the bookmobile. It will be routed through neighborhoods and to schools on a schedule, allowing library card-holders to check out and return books. FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident.

FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003. Last Modified: Monday, 31-Jul-2006 10:33:29