The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says volunteers are needed to help homeowners get the muck out of their homes. Mike Steele with GOHSEP says until the cleanup is done, people cannot start to rebuild….
cut 9 (08) “….urgent need”
Steele says individuals or goups who want to help can sign up at volunteer-louisiana-dot-gov.

State officials estimate 60-thousand homes were damaged in the Great Flood of 2016, and many displaced residents are now looking for new places to live. Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors president Tiffany Palmer says this is putting a strain on the market because there’s a low inventory of homes, especially for apartments….
cut 3 (09) “…and Southern”
Palmer says she doesn’t expect people to flee the area completely, but many will look for homes in areas that did not flood.

Here are the latest numbers on the Great Flood of 2016. Over 28-hundred people remain in shelters, an estimated 60-thousand homes damaged, over 106-thousand people have registered for federal disaster aid and there’s 40 state highways closed.

The evacuation order has been lifted in the Vermilion parish town of Gueydan (GAY-dahn). Vermilion Emergency Preparedness director Rebecca Broussard says they avoided major flooding in Gueydan thanks to quick work by the Louisiana National Guard.
CUT 6 (09) “in that area”
However, Broussard says they still had over 11-hundred homes flood throughout the parish.