The Times-Picayune: SUNO gets $5.4 million from FEMA to repair Katrina damage
John Pope
Southern University at New Orleans has received $5.4 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair damage that Hurricane Katrina inflicted on two buildings. The money will be routed through the state Office of Facility Planning and Control because it is responsible for all state-owned property.
SUNO will receive $3.1 million to repair its University Center and $2.3 million for its Administration Building. Work on the University Center will include flood-proofing measures, such as a design for a 4-foot-high floodwall to protect it, and it will pay for elevating mechanical and electrical equipment to prevent flood-related damage.
Similar work will be done on the Administration Building. Among the flood-proofing measures there will be pumps and a 5-foot-high floodwall with gates that will operate automatically.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., announced the grants. "I commend SUNO for working hard to rebuild stronger in the face of disaster, and for remaining an important presence in the New Orleans community," she said in a statement.
The campus was pounded by the storm's wind and rain, and inundated with floodwater that stood for weeks. In the seven years since Katrina, SUNO has received upwards of $117 million from FEMA to help it rebuild.
