NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — One month since Hurricane Ida, many people are still trying to repair their homes.
Tens of thousands have signed up for a Blue Roof from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The deadline for the free program is extended to October 15. Right now, more than 350 people from across the country are deployed in Louisiana to help those who need it.
So far, more than 10,000 blue roofs have been installed and on average, 800 are installed daily.
“It’s sure easy to be patient when it’s sunny, but it sure is hard to be patient when it’s raining and your roof is leaking. We’re on our way,” said Lt. Col. Thomas Sears with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
According to Sears, more than 65,000 people have signed up for a blue roof, but more than 24,000 people have cancelled.
“People are cancelling because they’re getting their roofs fixed permanently,” Sears said. “The Blue Roof Program is a free program where we put a high strength plastic material on the roof as a temporary solution. The long-term solution is to get the roof fixed permanently.”
Right now, more than 36,000 people are on the list to get their tarp. The Corps is identifying work in the same neighborhood to efficiently accomplish its mission.
“Bad weather is a factor,” Sears said. “Today it’s been raining, tomorrow it’s supposed to rain. That will slow the contractors down. We continue to strive, and we continue to push the contractors. They’re doing a great job.”
If you need to cancel your request for a blue roof because someone else tarped it or your roof was repaired, the Army Corps wants you to formally cancel your request. Doing so helps expedite the process to help those who really need it.
To cancel online; applicants should email their request to roe-cancel@usace.army.mil. Applicants should include in the email their Right of Entry number, Reference number, name, address, phone number and their PIN number they received upon sign up. Applicants may receive a call back to verify information provided in the cancellation request.
If you need to sign up for the Blue Roof Program, click here or call 1-888-ROOF-BLU.