Governor John Bel Edwards visits Acadiana today to meet with officials about recovering after the historic flooding. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Just five months after seeing residents of north Louisiana deal with a historic flood, south Louisianans are going through the same thing, but in very different ways. Halen Doughty has more…
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Governor John Bel Edwards has announced the state’s plan for getting flood victims out of shelters as quickly as possible. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Governor John Bel Edwards will be in Acadiana today to speak with local officials about the recovery process form the historic flooding. One of his stops will be in the town of Youngsville. Mayor Ken Ritter says the flood devastated the Lafayette parish town. He says the silver lining is that they have a strong community, and what was a rescue mission has moved quickly into recovery.
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Ritter says over 600 homes were affected by the storm, and most of the affected areas are not in flood zones. He says this poses a serious problem for many of their young residents who didn’t have flood insurance.
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Ritter says their focus now is helping those people without insurance who may have just lost their first home. He says the community is coming together to help these people rebuild, and they’re hoping for more federal assistance.
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The Louisiana Senate’s Homeland Security Committee holds a meeting today to get an update on recovery efforts two weeks after the floods. State Sen. Bodi White of Central says several agencies will meet and discuss the next steps.
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White says the public is welcome to attend the meeting or watch the broadcast online at the Louisiana Senate website. He says they will not take public comment today but plans to have representatives with the Small Business Association at their meeting next week.
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White says this hearing will hopefully shed light on what worked and didn’t work during this disaster. He says the more information they can push out to the public, the better.
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Louisiana has seen two historic floods just five months apart, and though similar in nature, the devastation is vastly different. Rev. Allison Sauls was living in Monroe during the March flood, and recently moved to Lafayette just before the flood in south Louisiana. She says the flooding in the south was more widespread than it was up north.
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Sauls says up north there was more flash flooding from the rain, whereas in the south it was hard to tell if the water was coming from the rain or the rivers. She says it’s been incredible to see folks who are still recovering up north coming to help people in south Louisiana.
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Sauls says much of the flooding in north Louisiana was in rural areas. But she says the southern flood was so expansive it pushed water into more urban areas, especially in the Baton Rouge region.
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Governor John Bel Edwards announces multiple options on how the state plans to house displaced flood victims. The governor says one option is manufactured homes for those homeowners who received extensive damage to their months that will take months to repair.
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Edwards says homeowners whose home sustained more than $17-thousand in damage are eligible, as well as renters whose rental was destroyed. He says the Shelter At Home Program is new to Louisiana and seeks to get people back into their own homes quickly.
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Edwards says the Shelter at Home program pays up to $15-thousand for plumbing and electrical inspections, removing debris, making sure there is a working bathroom and air conditioning, and providing small refrigerators and microwaves.
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Edwards says the program will be open on Monday, and they will announce then how people can apply.