This expo will help homeowners learn how to protect their homes from hurricanes and other storms. The event will provide information on the many options available for hurricane protection including retrofitting current structures for flood and wind resistance and energy efficiency.

Several specialists and researchers will be on hand to talk with homeowners about what they can do to protect their homes. We will have information pieces homeowners can take with them, and several models and other exhibits they can look at to see how flood and wind retrofitting techniques can be applied.

Topics and exhibits planned for the expo include the following:

• Online Hands-on Mapping – flood zones, windspeed and ground elevation
• Money to elevate homes
• The National Flood Insurance Program and Increased Cost of Compliance Coverage Soil characteristics and elevation certificates
• What’s happening with Road Home properties the state has bought?
• The Next Storm: surge modeling and visualizing surge risk
• Permit Officials

Panel (officials from Calcasieu and Cameron parishes)

Continuous demonstrations of correct installation techniques for doors, windows, siding and roofs will also be available. Representatives of the State Fire Marshall’s office and the Southwest Area Home Builders Association will be on hand to discuss manufactured home installation and the importance of finding the right contractor, respectively. The program also includes a presentation and table display by a local home elevation contractor.

The expo is being produced by the LSU AgCenter in partnership with the Calcasieu and Cameron Parish Police Juries and their floodplain management offices. Other state, federal and non-profit agencies are participating.

In addition to the expo, the weekend will include a Cameron Parish Tour of Hurricane-Resistant Homes on Sunday, May 17. The home tour will consist of newly built-to-code houses that have already survived one hurricane – Hurricane Ike in 2008. An information center will be located in Cameron at 180 Henry St., near the courthouse, on the day of the tour.

For information on the expo, contact Lucile Guidry at (337) 654-2499. For the tour of homes, contact Dusty Zaunbrecher at the LSU AgCenter Calcasieu Parish Office at (337) 475-8812.