As awareness fades, Kevin Gausman of the Baltimore Orioles is hoping to use his platform as a professional athlete to raise funds for the victims of the flood.
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For most of the country, the images of devastation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana have faded from view. It was a sentiment echoed by many in the area, many of whom have said they feel their plight has been ignored by the media.
“And it’s become this whirl wind that’s awesome”, said Ball.
“You know I pay my taxes, I worked”.
“We’re collecting all kinds of things for babies and mothers”, Johnathan Greer. A firsthand look at the aftermath of a downpour that submerged entire communities – but won’t sink the spirit of the people of the bayou. “We’re not ready to put a number on that, but it’s going to be the only option for a number of households”, said Gerry Stolar, FEMA’s federal coordinating officer. “In the rain and everything they were still here. We’re glad that the families I had a chance to meet are safe, but they’ve got a lot of work to do, and they shouldn’t have to do it alone”, Obama said.
Nearly 300,000 residents remain in shelters while the clean up continues.
“I will be so grateful to those who donate whatever they can to help get southern Louisiana back on its feet after this devastating storm”, Gausman said.
For the first time, President Barack Obama saw the devastation in Baton Rouge with his own eyes, as he toured the flood damaged region. Trump was over here, but he wasnt, she said.
The storm and its flooding have damaged an estimated 60,000 homes and forced thousands to seek temporary housing.
A storm that began August 12 dumped as much as 2 feet of rain in some areas over 48 hours.
Like Clinton, representatives for the White House say they have been keen to avoid politicizing the suffering of thousands of Louisiana residents.
Approximately 110,500 displaced people had applied for federal disaster aid and $74 million dollars have already been distributed as of Tuesday, according to Reuters. Those with more severe destruction will have access to mobile homes not unlike the trailers used for Katrina victims.
Louisiana’s largest health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, has relaxed some restrictions to ensure that customers affected by the recent flooding can get health care, medicine and medical supplies.
Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, who headed the agency when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, weighed in on the flooding in Louisiana, the political fallout and the government’s handling of the recovery process. “It really helps you to refocus on what’s important”.
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