After Ida, Long-Term Disaster Recovery in "Cancer Alley" Louisiana, the Political Culture Perspective: A Case Study

Louisiana and other disaster-prone locales are in an insurance crisis. Climate change findings predict an increase in severity and occurrence of weather-related disasters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency utilizes the Disaster Management Cycle of mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery to address U.S. disaster concerns. Current disaster policy focuses on disaster risk reduction through resilience. Resilience refers to the ability of an individual or locale to “bounce back” after disaster. Case study was conducted to determine the duration of long-term disaster recovery in “Cancer Alley” Louisiana after Hurricane Ida, by examining homeowner’s insurance. The presence of homeowner’s insurance is a primary indicator in determining duration of recovery after disaster. Generally, insurance is required for homeowners with a mortgage. However, only around 13% of American homeowners are insured. Insured homeowners experience the shortest duration of recovery. When an insured homeowner’s insurance company becomes insolvent, duration of recovery is increased. When uninsured and underinsured homeowners experience property damage from disaster, they turn to government and non-governmental organizations for aid. Uninsured homeowners experience the longest duration of recovery after disaster. Future policy and resiliency efforts should seek to reduce the prevalence of underinsured and uninsured homeowners. The duration of long-term recovery has a direct impact on resilience levels of individuals and communities. This study seeks to add to the literature by providing a baseline for duration of long-term recovery.