Neon Lights & Flood Maps

The recovery after Hurricane Katrina is gaining momentum in Mississippi. Today all but three casinos have announced their plans to reopen or rebuild. The three exceptions are Casino Magic in Biloxi and the Grand Casinos in Biloxi and Gulfport. The Mississippi Gaming said the three casinos stated they were not far enough into their plans to make any announcement. I hope that means they'll reopen and add their neon lights and make the Coast glow again.

Below is a partial list of the casinos that plan to reopen by December or within two years:

Imperial Palace plans to reopen its casino Dec. 20 and is already running holiday-themed advertisements to herald the occasion.

Isle of Capri Biloxi plans to reopen Dec. 26 with a gambling floor inside its new hotel.

The Palace Casino plans to reopen on Dec. 30.

Beau Rivage plans to reopen on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Aug. 29, followed by its new golf course in the autumn of 2006.

Boomtown Casino could potentially open with a new barge within six months.

Casino Magic Bay St. Louis will open its golf course in mid-December and could possibly open a casino in nine months.

Copa Casino will reopen with a new land-based facility in about two years.SunHerald

It's good to see so many casinos coming back by December. The Coast's rebuilding efforts will be spurred on and in fact are progressing at a good rate. There is one thing that is holding back some rebuilding though. Cities are holding back rebuilding permits until the new FEMA flood maps are posted. These maps are to be posted tommorow. But some things are anticipated:

FEMA has increased flood elevations by 3 to 8 feet along the Coast. Building to those elevations, whether local governments require it or not, will protect structures in future floods. Current maps are outdated and, FEMA says, understate flood risk.SunHerald

There is concern because while the new maps will increase the flood elevation by 3 to 8 feet, there are still many areas that were affected by Hurricane Katrina's storm surge that will not be covered. With a 20 to 40 foot storm surge that slammed across the Mississippi Coast, many areas that were flooded were not listed on any previous floodplains and will still not be with the new FEMA maps. Many people are considering buying flood insurance just in case.