Blue Roof Town

Continuing with the guest contributor theme this week, my friend Bob from Pensacola sent along this Google Earth image of his neighborhood, taken not long after September 2004’s Hurricane Ivan. It shows all the temporary roofs installed in that area by FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers under the “Blue Roofs” program. As a native Floridian with childhood memories of the family taking shelter overnight in the bathroom – and as a fan of Google Earth, I found this quite interesting.

Bob said his roof didn’t need a tarp, although he had to do an extensive repair…he also said there are some roofs in the neighborhood where there are still traces of those original blue tarps. Not many though, and he speculates that the damage wasn’t so significant after all, or the repair just wasn’t addressed for some reason.

The stunning image sent me off on a research track – I vaguely remembered reading about the program back in the 2003-2005 timeframe, when it seemed like every hurricane was hitting a densely populated area like this. Here are some details.

From the FEMA site, a description of the program -
The recent hurricanes have left many homeowners with damaged roofs. Repairs to these roofs can take time. In order to mitigate additional damage that could result from rain, homeowners can have plastic sheeting installed over the damaged area by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractors, in a program provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

To qualify for BLUE ROOF services, damage to the roof must be less than 50 percent and the area to be covered must be structurally sound for a crew to work on.

In order to have plastic sheeting placed on their roofs, homeowners must complete a right of entry form to allow government and contractor employees on their property. Right of Entry (ROE) centers for affected counties are manned by Corps of Engineers employees. For the center location in your county call toll free 1-888-766-3258.

• The Corps is covering roofs in the hardest hit counties first. Be patient. The Corps will respond to every person who has completed a ROE as rapidly as possible.
• Homeowners who had plastic sheeting damaged or blown off during Hurricane Jeanne must complete a new ROE form. The damaged or missing plastic sheeting will be reinstalled as rapidly as possible.
• In some instances, there may be a slowdown in installing plastic sheeting because of a national shortage.
• Homeowners can also cover their roof with free tarps provided by FEMA and issued through their local governments. Residents need to monitor the media for information on where to pick up the tarps.
  

And then I found this report about Jasper, Texas, following Hurricane Rita’s hit there in September 2005:
[Jasper] suffered considerable damage. The town was also left without power or drinkable water for about three and half weeks. Many residents of Jasper felt then, and still feel, that FEMA overlooked them and the situation that Jasper and Jasper County were in. Even as late as mid-2007 there are still blue FEMA tarps in evidence on area roofs as some people continue to await funding to make repairs.

…and a 2008 update:
…If you drive though in a year and still see the tarps that’s pretty bad. If three years after the hurricane you still see the blue tarps (which is the case in Port Arthur today, three years after Hurricane Rita) then the rebuilding effort is seriously flawed.

Finally, some details of the program implemented in Louisiana, post Katrina:
The tarps are to keep out rain until more permanent roof repairs can be made. Thousands of blue tarps can be seen throughout the city, since even areas without flooding suffered wind damage. A number of official restrictions, however, mean some residents are unable to benefit from this recovery program. Likewise, a number of subcontractors paid by the Corps only do "easy" low-pitch one-story roofs, choosing not to return to do more difficult roofs. Some New Orleanians have been living for months in homes with sizable holes in their roofs, still unsuccessful in getting either a blue tarp or a contractor to put up a permanent roof. Among the popular handouts at Red Cross relief stations were 5-gallon buckets, many of which are put to use whenever it rains. Six months after the storm, many of the hastily-placed blue roof tarps are in tatters, and the Corps will only allow one tarp to be placed on a roof, leaving these homes vulnerable again. Many people have still not succeeded in getting permanent roof repairs from such reasons as long waiting lists for reliable contractors and waits for insurance payment.