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A new study shows Louisiana ranks top five in the nation for hurricane preparedness
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LOUISIANA (KLFY) -- A new study shows Louisiana is improving when it comes to hurricane preparedness, ranking as a top five state in hurricane preparedness for the first time in history.
The Insurance Institute of Business and Home Safety released a report showing Louisiana moved into the top five states for hurricane preparedness. In addition to this, Louisiana is also one of the most improved states. Researcher Ian Giammanco, says Louisiana is making progress on withstanding damage from storms.
"Louisiana, adopted the latest building codes, the international residential code, but also made some pretty good strides to gain some more points, and that's done wonders to push them into the top five for the first time," said Giammanco.
With help from the Insurance Institute of Business and Home Safety, the State of Louisiana created the fortify homes program. That program gives us to $10,000 to homeowners who strengthen their roofs to fight against hurricane-forced winds.
"If we can put this program in and sustain it for the years to come, we can maintain a very healthy private insurance market and that's actually the best for all of us," Giammanco explained.
The Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness director, Jacques Thibodeaux, says with hurricane season just a couple of months away, it's important for residents to prepare now.
"The chance of a storm hitting us is always pretty high, we've learned a lot of lessons going all the way back to Katrina and Rita and Gustav and Ike and most recently Laura, Delta, Zeta, and now Hurricane Ida. What we emphasize to everyone is always have a plan," said Thibodeaux.