Hurricane Katrina caused “significant property and
infrastructure damage” to General Services
Administration-owned and leased federal buildings and
courthouses in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi,
necessitating the eventual relocation of as many as
40,000 federal employees representing all major federal
agencies.
Twelve federal facilities were closed because of Hurricane
Katrina in GSA’s Southeast Region 4, which includes Alabama
and Mississippi. Five have reopened, and employees from
seven other closed buildings have been temporarily relocated
elsewhere. All federal facilities in the New Orleans area
are closed until further notice.
“While not all GSA owned and leased facilities suffered major
structural damage, there is no supporting critical
infrastructure, such as water supply, electricity, or
accessible roads,” it said. “More than 30 GSA technical and
building specialists are conducting building inspections to
assess when or if federal facilities in these areas may be
reopened. GSA is using trailers and obtaining emergency 180
day leases in surrounding areas to relocate federal tenants.”
GSA-owned courthouse facilities in New Orleans, and Gulfport,
Miss., have temporarily relocated to Houston, Houma, La, and
Jackson, Miss.
A bill pending in the Senate (S-1708), the Emergency Lease
Requirements Act of 2005, would amend current law to authorize
the GSA administrator to enter into emergency lease agreements
for up to five years following a major disaster.
