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Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding Addresses Participants at Excess/Surplus Lines Claims Association Conference

Release Date: October 9, 2007

For Immediate Release
Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding
Contact: Gayla Keller, 202-572-8853

(Indian Wells, CA) -- Donald E. Powell, the president's top official for Gulf Coast rebuilding, today spoke to members of the Excess/Surplus Lines Claims Association (ESLCA), a global not-for-profit insurance industry association, on the vast and continuing safety improvements that have been made in the Gulf Coast region.

"People in this room will and can directly affect the vitality of the Gulf Coast region," stated Powell. "It is critical that the insurance industry recognizes and understands the solid examples of rebuilding progress in the Gulf Coast region as they assess current risk."

Speaking to hundreds of association members at the ESLCA annual conference, Chairman Powell highlighted the improvements to hurricane protection systems and stressed the importance of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force’s (IPET) state of the art storm models. The technology has been translated into easily understandable maps, available at http://nolarisk.usace.army.mil, which allow residents of New Orleans to assess their own risk from hurricanes and make smart rebuilding decisions.

"The IPET web site is a great tool that enables businesses and homeowners in the New Orleans area to make risk-informed decisions," Powell said. "Hurricane protection systems are in the best condition they’ve ever been and we want to drive home the fact that it’s good business to rebuild and reinvest in the Gulf Coast region."

For the last twenty-three months, the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding has been engaged in facilitating and streamlining various components of the recovery effort, providing key federal support and resources to local leaders, and reinforcing the federal government's commitment to the people of the Gulf Coast.

www.dhs.gov/gulfcoastrebuild

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* Removed misplaced third sentence from second paragraph and noted location.

This page was last modified on October 9, 2007