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New Orleans Awaits FEMA Flood Maps New Orleans is waiting for important news from FEMA later this month: new flood maps. They'll tell homeowners how high off the ground they should build depending on local elevations. Being any lower than that might make flood insurance prohibitively expensive or unavailable.
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Six Months After Katrina

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New Orleans Awaits FEMA Flood Maps

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New Orleans Awaits FEMA Flood Maps

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A January 2006 Katrina flood recovery map for St. John the Baptist Parish. A map for Orleans Parish is pending. FEMA hide caption

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FEMA

New Orleans is waiting for important news from FEMA later this month: new flood maps. They'll tell homeowners how high off the ground they should build depending on local elevations. Being any lower than that might make flood insurance prohibitively expensive or unavailable.

But, even as New Orleanians await the long-delayed advisory maps, the city's director of permits is approving applications by homeowners to rebuild. Robert Siegel talks with Mike Centineo about the prospects for rebuilding New Orleans.

Rebuilding Strategy

Read the plan issued by the Bring Back New Orleans Commission, Jan. 11, 2006.