>> hello. >> sullivan: laura sullivan. nice to meet you. >> very nice to meet you as well. >> sullivan: john houghtaling is a bit of a new orleans legend, a plaintiff's attorney with a taste for french antiques. >> so it's restored just like at the time. >> sullivan: he made millions for his clients and for himself, taking on the insurance companies after katrina. >> insurance policies, even for a lawyer that's been doing this for a long time, they're very complicated. i mean, they're thick. if you've ever tried to read an insurance policy, it's very difficult to read. it's not written in plain language. there's lots of loopholes in it, lots of exclusions. so everybody here is working on sandy, and these are the clients that we represent. >> sullivan: after sandy, houghtaling focused his law firm's attention on problems developing with flood claims in new york and new jersey. >> i looked at some of the cases, and i had never seen anything worse in my entire career. >> sullivan: he eventually signed on to represent about 600

sullivan: laura sullivan. nice tmeetou. >>nimeou as well. >>van htaling is a bit of o legend, a plaintiff's attorney with stfrnt >>ittost at tim >> sullivan: he made millions for his clntfo himself, taking on the insurance mpafr trina. iceie even for a lawyer that's en dng this r a long time, they're very compli i mean, they're thick. ifouer t an insurance policy, it's very dit d. it's not written in plain ge there's lots of loopholes i oclusions. so eve h w on sandy, and these ar the clients that we represent. >> sullivan: after sandy ugg d w firm's attention on problems pih flood claims ew york and je >> i looked at some of the se iever seen anything worse in my entire career. >> sullivan: he enally signed on to rrese about 600 sandy victims in lawsuits against 20 insurance companies and he says the companies used a variety of ways to stalnderpay homeners. >>yolook at this all of t nrh we all underni. they used the same process to underpay everybody. >> sullivan: as the lawyers dug heandy cases, they made kico >> theema-run national f insur

here's an excerpt from "frontline" about one of the housing programs in new york with npr reporter laura sullivan. >> sullivan: the job of rebuilding these homes in new york city is the responsibility of a special housing program called build it back. >> we've created a powerful program. >> sullivan: the program got $1.7 billion from washington. >> and we've secured federal aid money. the name of the program is nyc build it back, and it's here to make your home safer, our community stronger, and our city the very best it can be. >> sullivan: one family that was told they'd be among the first to be helped by build it back was diane and nick camerada, the couple the president had comforted. >> just don't forget about us. >> that's my point. that's why i came here. (laughter) >> sullivan: hi! but three years later, they were still living with a fish tank filled with sandy storm water. >> this is our fish tank. >> sullivan: is this the water from the tidal surge? >> yes. >> sullivan: this is tidal surge water. >> tidal surge plus the fish tank water. i mean, everything must have intermingled, because

sullivan: thank you, laura. let me extend a special thank you also to dr.re at this spectacular facility. i hope you will take him up on his offer to go upstairs for a tour. i would also like to acknowledge dr. jerry bell, who leads the team that produces the annual hurricane season outlook. he will be available for questions after the conference portion of this event is through. as we have been hearing already, communities all along america's coastlines are in the throes of preparing for hurricane season. although that season does not officially begin until june 1, i do want to start the day with an update on the low-pressure system that is currently being monitored between bermuda and the bahamas that has a prospect of approaching the southeast u.s. coastline. it's technical name is invest 91-lima. the system has quite a high chance of becoming a tropical or subtropical cyclone, in which case it would pick up the next name in the season list, and that would be bonnie. storms in may are not unusual. this one may or may not reach the threshold to become tro