The Samaritan Purse says that there are almost 30,000 people who are to be saved. “They shouldn’t have to do it alone”.
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Naketa Woods, who owns a home in Castle Place, stood in her driveway in the sweltering heat with her husband waiting to meet with Obama.
“Yes, sir. And she balled, crying”, Dwyer said. At least 13 deaths have been attributed to the flooding, and more than 60,000 homes were damaged by the storm.
“I am so happy he came out here”, said Melissa Hawkins. “It is about roots”. Many people did not have flood insurance.
Nungesser knows he could criticize Obama “for being a day late”, but “as a lieutenant governor of a state who has so many people without flood insurance who are going to need help … my only objective is to rebuild Louisiana”. At least a quarter of the state’s students saw the start of school delayed as districts shut down and many school facilities were flooded.
The governor of Louisiana had this to say about the flooding: “When you have a storm that is unnamed – it wasn’t a tropical storm, it wasn’t a hurricane – a lot of times people underestimate the impact that it would have….” But just when the material possessions of the people got washed away in the cruel rain, humanity seemed to have suddenly rediscovered itself when a number of Christian charities joined hands together to save the community however they could. The disaster brought back painful memories of Hurricane Katrina, which 11 years ago inundated nearby New Orleans and brought searing criticism of the federal government’s response. In the current presidential race, Hillary Clinton’s campaign has already spent $256 million, more than double the FEMA flood relief.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited Louisiana last week, and goaded the golf-loving President about his absence.
Although Krichel said he did not want to evoke politics, he agreed Obama should have visited the stricken area earlier.
U.S. President Barack Obama, flanked by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate, delivers remarks after a tour of a flood-affected neighborhood in Zachary, Louisiana, U.S. August 23, 2016.
Too little too late, Mona Gaspard said of Obamas visit.
It was a sentiment repeated by people in the area, many of whom have said they feel their plight has been ignored.
But as much as 2 feet of rain fell in some parts of Baton Rouge over 48 hours. “Trump was over here, but he wasn’t”, she said.
“We’re talking about lives lost. We’re talking about a community being upended”, Earnest said.
But frustration over the president’s absence merged with a widespread sense that the disaster has been unjustly overshadowed by coverage of the Summer Olympics and the presidential election.
“The historic flooding in and around Baton Rouge and other areas is a combination of several factors including riverine (on-floodplain) flooding, backwater in tributaries due to high flood stages in main rivers, and significant local flash flooding (off-floodplain) caused by intense rainfall, flatter terrain, and limited drainage capacity that was further exacerbated by backwater effects”.
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During a question and answer session, the president said that he didn’t worry about others seeing his trip as politicized.
