Disaster Relief Fund Allocation

Introduction and Background

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the Road Home Program was established to provide aid to Louisiana homeowners whose properties suffered extensive damage, beyond what was covered by insurance and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Association) assistance. This initiative offered various types of grants, such as:

• Compensation grants
• Elevation grants
• Mitigation grants

The dataset, acquired from the Louisiana Division of Administration, contains detailed records of homeowners who received these grants. It includes information such as:

• Pre-storm property values
• Repair costs
• Insurance details
• Total grant amounts disbursed

However, discrepancies in grant amounts have been observed, often due to factors like additional insurance payments or instances of fraud, affecting the actual funds owed by homeowners to the state. Identifying properties that received more funds than warranted is crucial for ensuring:

• Financial transparency
• Fair resource allocation
• Program effectiveness

Problem Statement

In some cases, homeowners may have received excess funds from their insurance or due to fraud, resulting in more money from the Road Home Program than they should have received. This creates a need to identify such cases to prevent improper allocations and ensure that funds are used appropriately.

Objective

The task is to:

1. Identify homes/homeowners or contractors in Louisiana who may have received more money than they were supposed to.
2. Ensure that the funds are used properly, shared fairly, and that future disaster recovery programs work more effectively.
3. Conduct an exploratory data analysis (EDA) of the acquired dataset to identify fraudulent cases and evaluate the potential savings if fraud had been detected earlier. This could lead to more effective distribution of grants and extensive help to other homeowners in need.

Conclusion

This project aims to enhance the transparency and fairness of disaster relief fund allocation by identifying improper grant disbursements. By analyzing the Road Home Program data, we aim to improve the effectiveness of disaster recovery programs in future scenarios and ensure that financial resources are distributed appropriately.