BILOXI, MS - Mississippi's battered coast has regained most of its population and is getting a boost from tourism but still lacks affordable housing for its poorest residents, according to two new studies. About 97% of the population has returned to Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties, the three areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to a report by the Gulf Coast Business Council, a non-profit group of businesses formed in 2006 to promote recovery.
The counties lost nearly 40,000 of their 376,000 residents after Katrina ravaged the area, the report said. "Generally, the report shows we've made tremendous progress as compared to three years ago or even one year ago," said Brian Sanderson, council president. Lack of affordable housing remains a thorny challenge, according to a study by the Biloxi-based Mississippi Center for Justice. About 6,170 of damaged rental units in Mississippi's coastal counties are slated to be repaired, leaving about 4,500 unrepaired, according to the study.
As of March, only 13% of the $1.6 billion in the state's emergency community development block grant funds had benefited lower-income victims, according to the report. "This is the untold story," said Reilly Morse, a senior attorney at the center and one of the report's authors. "When you add it all up, there's a surprisingly high number of people still not housed."
Mississippi's coastal communities have been regaining population faster than New Orleans, one of the hardest-hit areas in Louisiana. By comparison, New Orleans has recaptured about 72% of its pre-Katrina population of 450,000. The disaster was more profound in New Orleans, where levees broke and submerged 80% of the city for weeks, said Dan Rothschild, who is leading a long-term study of Gulf Coast recovery at George Mason University's Mercatus Center.
The Gulf Coast Business Council report was based on data from the U.S. Census, Mississippi Tax Commission, news reports and county agencies, among other sources. It also found:
• As of this summer, the unemployment rate for Mississippi's coastal counties was 6.6%, down from more than 20% directly after the storm.
• Overall sales tax from 11 coastal cities exceeded $60 million in fiscal year 2008, or about 114% of the $53 million collected in fiscal year 2005.
• In 2008, casinos in coastal counties reported more than $1.3 billion in total gaming revenue, breaking the 2004 record of $1.2 billion. Slot machines and table positions are at about 85% of pre-Katrina levels.
• About 70% of the Mississippi coast's hotel rooms have reopened.
Strong leadership and a robust relationship between public and private officials have contributed to the area's recovery gains, Sanderson said. "There's been more cooperation than ever before in the history of the coast," he said.
Source: USA Today