Partnerships and Progress: Louisiana Severe Storms and Flooding 60 Days Later

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana is taking significant steps toward recovery following the severe storms and flooding that occurred March 8 through April 8.
Affected communities and disaster survivors are repairing and rebuilding better, stronger and safer with the help of neighbors, friends, family members, voluntary groups, faith and community-based organizations and local, parish, state and federal governments.
The following highlights recovery progress made in the 60 days since the March 13 presidential disaster declaration and how disaster survivors and affected communities are overcoming challenges.
After initially designating seven parishes, the presidential disaster declaration has been amended six times making survivors in 36 parishes eligible to apply for help under the Individual Assistance program. So far, more than 38,000 Louisiana survivors have contacted FEMA for help.
To date, survivors have received approximately $306 million in federal disaster assistance for a variety of recovery purposes.

•     More than $65 million in grants have been approved for a place to stay for homeowners and renters whose residences were uninhabitable and to make essential repairs for homes to be safe, sanitary and secure.
•     Nearly $18 million in grants have gone to homeowners and renters to repair and replace certain household items and for burial, medical and dental expenses.
•     Homeowners, renters and businesses have received nearly $80 million in low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration to repair, rebuild and replace damaged property and contents. Disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other sources.
•     National Flood Insurance Program policyholders have received nearly $143 million in claims to repair and rebuild flood-damaged property and recoveries.

The declaration was amended a seventh time April 20. Local, parish and state government infrastructure and certain private nonprofit organizations in 37 parishes became eligible to receive funding through FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) program to repair and rebuild disaster-damaged facilities. Local, parish and state government expenses related to debris removal, saving lives, providing security, and managing the immediate response are also eligible for reimbursement.
The PA program benefits everyone in the affected communities because essential services like roads, utilities, schools and hospitals are many times restored more resilient than they were before the disaster. FEMA relieves burdens of local and parish governments and the state by paying 75 percent of the costs.
Storm and flood debris blemish communities and its removal is necessary for disaster survivors to repair, rebuild and get their lives back on track. Many properties of survivors, towns and parishes are now free of disaster-related eyesores and closer to recovery because of communities removing debris.
Disaster recovery officials are still on the ground in Louisiana and interacting with survivors in a variety of ways to help them recover:

•     GOSHEP and FEMA specialists have held 14 applicant briefings to provide a general overview of the Public Assistance program to local leaders.
•     State and federal Public Assistance specialists have held more than 200 kickoff meetings to discuss with representatives from local infrastructure and certain nonprofits what projects may be available and to answer questions.
•     FEMA specialists have attended more than 40 community organization events in Louisiana to discuss and answer questions about federal disaster assistance.
•     Nearly 18,000 survivors have visited 44 disaster recovery centers (DRCs). The first centers opened less than a week after the presidential disaster declaration.
•     Nearly 34,000 FEMA housing inspections have been completed.
•     More than 67,000 survivors have spoken with FEMA disaster survivor assistance specialists. These are FEMA staff who canvass affected communities to encourage survivors to register   for help, provide recovery information and listen to their concerns and has resulted in more than 4,000 registrations for federal disaster assistance.
•     Free consultations on building hazard-resistant homes have been given to more than 6,000 survivors at DRCs and approximately 1,800 at Louisiana home improvements stores.

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Director (GOHSEP) James Waskom and Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator Wayne Rickard are coordinating a team of state and federal disaster recovery specialists to restore, redevelop, revitalize and better prepare affected communities. The coordination team is working with local and parish governments, community leaders and the private sector on how to overcome long-term recovery challenges by pooling their resources to provide technical assistance and identify recovery funding sources.
Recovery has significantly progressed because of voluntary, faith and community-based groups that are donating their time and skills to help survivors muck out, repair and rebuild their homes. These groups are always the first and last presence to help disaster survivors recover.
Whole community partners continue to collaborate to find solutions to enable Louisiana’s recovery and will be here as long as it takes.

Louisiana disaster survivors are reminded that the deadline to register for FEMA assistance is Monday, June 13. You can register for disaster assistance or ask questions by calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585. Those who use 711/VRS can call 800-621-3362. Lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week until further notice. You can also register online at DisasterAssistance.gov.

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We urge everyone to continue to use caution in areas where floodwaters remain. Monitor DOTD’s 511la.org website for updated road closure information. Look for advisories from your local authorities and emergency managers. You can find the latest information on the state’s response at  www.emergency.la.gov. GOHSEP also provides information at gohsep.la.gov, Facebook and Twitter. You can receive emergency alerts on most smartphones and tablets by downloading the new Alert FM App. It is free for basic service. You can also download the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Guide and find other information at getagameplan.org.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). If you are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability loss and use a TTY, call 800-462-7585 directly; if you use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion6 and the FEMA Blog at blog.fema.gov.

FEMA offers a number of free online resources for home and property owners. To get started, go to fema.gov/safer-stronger-protected-homes-communities or fema.gov/louisiana-disaster-mitigation.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling (800) 659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website at SBA.gov/disaster Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call (800) 877-8339.