A decade of tourism development in Mississippi was wiped out in a few hours as the full extent of Hurricane Katrina’s destructive force began to emerge. Hundreds of people are now feared to have died as winds of 145mph and 30ft waves surged through the Gulf Coast, wrecking everything in its path. New Orleans is said to be 70% under water as rescue teams raced to pluck stranded residents off rooftops. Although the city was spared the full initial impact of the hurricane, new dangers emerged as its levees gave way under pressure from rising and powerful water surges.

A section of the Grand Casino in Gulfport, Miss., sits in the road in front of a hotel, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005, after it was washed out of its mooring by Hurricane Katrina last Monday morning.(AP Photo/Phil Coale)
New Orleans Police and volunteers use boats to rescue residents from a flooded flooded Days Inn hotel in New Orleans, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005. Hurricane Katrina left much of the city under water. Officials called for a mandatory evacuation of the city, but many resident remained in the city and had to be rescued from flooded homes and hotels. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Steve Shanks pedals past the now beach-front President Casino,Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005 in Biloxi, Miss. The casino was torn from its mooring Monday by Hurricane Katrina and floated over U.S. Highway 90 until it rested on top of the Holiday Inn Express. Shanks, an employee of a beach front restaurant went to work and found nothing to salvage but a serving plate. (AP Photo/Rogelio Solis)

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AH&LA is working in close cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to mobilize hoteliers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the surrounding states who are willing and able to assist with hurricane relief efforts.

With tens-of-thousands of individuals displaced from their homes and thousands of disaster relief workers beginning to converge on the area, there is a great need for temporary housing and other assistance. FEMA is working to assess all of the needs after Hurricane Katrina, but has already named transportation and housing as two immediate priorities. The following information has been provided by FEMA:

Please note that while donations are always welcome, FEMA is prepared to pay for services you render. This is an opportunity to do business with the Department of Homeland Security. A general description of housing needs: This encompasses emergency, medium-term, and long-term solutions for housing needs in Louisiana, Mississippi, and the surrounding states. Emergency housing includes anything that can be used immediately for shelter, such as tents. Medium-term includes hotels, empty buildings, shopping centers, mobile homes or cruise ships, and long-term is geared more towards house and apartment rentals and extended stay hotels.

Please note that in most states, and certainly in states impacted by Katrina, there are laws that prohibit price gouging. These laws commonly apply to times of declared emergency and prohibit service providers, such as hotels, from charging excessive prices due to demand increases resulting from the emergency. These laws are often criminal in nature and the affected states have already issued warnings about engaging in such conduct in the wake of Katrina. If you increase prices at this time, you should have cost justification for your action. We are aware that some hotels are in fact doing the opposite by lowering prices to assist those who have been displaced by the catastrophe.

AH&LA and its partner state associations continue working with FEMA to assess the situation and help mobilize the assistance of our members. If you have resources that fall under the Transportation or Housing areas, please email the PSO at [email protected] with detailed contact information and any specifics you might be able to provide on the resources or services you have available.

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