WASHINGTON D.C. (BRPROUD) – President Joe Biden has approved Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards’ request for a federal disaster declaration in the wake of Hurricane Ida.
Financial assistance will be available to aid recovery for Louisiana individuals and businesses.
Read the full statement below:
Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Ida beginning on August 26, 2021, and continuing.
The President’s action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the parishes of Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana.
Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
Federal funding also is available to State, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for debris removal in the parishes of Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana and emergency protective measures statewide. For a period of 30 days from the start of the incident period, assistance for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, is authorized at 100 percent of the total eligible costs.
Lastly, Federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.
Deanne Criswell, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named John E. Long as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
Damage assessments are continuing in other areas, and more parishes and additional forms of assistance may be designated after the assessments are fully completed.
Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated parishes can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.
“I am extremely grateful to Pres. Biden for his swift response to my request,” said Governor John Bel Edwards. “This will be critical to our response to the recovery from Hurricane Ida which has proven to be as dangerous as we anticipated. Tonight, we have confirmed at least one death and sadly, we know there will be others. Thousands of our people are without power and there is untold damage to property across the impacted parishes. FEMA has been with us since before the storm to help coordinate our state and federal efforts, which has been incredibly helpful. I know that it will take some time to address all of the challenges of this storm, but I am confident in the resilience of our people and the commitment of all of our partners to pull through this, which we will do together.”
Hurricane Ida made landfall in Port Fourchon bringing in winds of 155 miles per hour. The storm has left 800,000 residents without electricity as of Sunday night.