Graham says much of the eastern portion of the state, from the northern MS border all the way to the Gulf of Mexico saw rainfall of at least 15 inches over 48 hours. “I can’t complain about the assistance from the federal government”.
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The images coming from Baton Rouge and its surrounding low-lying areas, of submerged homes and streets turned into rivers, inevitably call to mind the tragic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Only this time, most people might not have heard about it.
Louisiana U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, said, “We are a headline to the president of the United States”.
Residents will continue going back to their homes Wednesday, assessing damage and getting to work on repairs, in areas where the waters have receded enough.
Leaders in Louisiana have noticed that the nation isn’t paying attention to its struggles, and they have a few theories as to why.
For one, Governor John Bel Edwards told reporters on Tuesday, this storm didn’t come with a name.
“I’m not going to lie, I cried uncontrollably”, he said.
“We weren’t in a flood zone”.
Rivers and creeks were still dangerously bloated in areas south of Baton Rouge as the water made its way toward the Gulf of Mexico.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate visited Louisiana on Wednesday, followed by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Thursday. “You had the Olympics, you’ve got the election, and if you looked at the national news, you’re probably only on the third or fourth page”, Fugate noted.
Thousands of people were rescued after floodwaters rose on roads and into homes across the area.
More than 40,000 homes have suffered damage, Edwards said, and authorities rescued more than 30,000 people and 1,000 pets trying to escape the rising waters. He recalled his calculations over the cost of flood insurance and his decision not to buy it. “This is a 500 to 1,000-year event”, said Representative Garret Graves, a life-long Baton Rouge resident whose district was heavily effected by the flooding.
He said that FEMA’s approach is to view the best scenario is quick improvements to get people back into their homes. “Now, I have to start all over”. Ricks said now that the water has gone down in some parts, many people want to go into the neighborhoods to see their homes. That’s more than 30 percent of the housing units in that community of 114,000 people. “Had people just been given more notice on this, they could have brought those cars to higher ground”, Graves said.
“If they give us help, fine”, Ronald added.
Fugate briefed Obama by phone on Wednesday, but the president hasn’t commented directly on the floods, and his silence along with the images of him golfing on vacation drew the ire of conservatives on Twitter.
Senate President John Alario, a Westwego Republican who traveled with Edwards and FEMA leaders earlier this week to flood-struck areas, agreed.
“Just because the national media hasn’t picked up on this – making it a headline – we think it is a national headline disaster”.
A budget hearing at the State Capitol on Thursday shifted to lawmakers’ concerns about the flood. At least 8,000 people stayed in shelters across the state Monday night, and already 40,000 people have applied for federal disaster assistance.
(AP Photo/Max Becherer). Daniella Letelier puts wet family photos out to dry as she cleans her flood damaged home in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016.
Thirteen deaths have been confirmed as a result of storms and flooding in south Louisiana. “We never thought we needed it”, said Chris Bankston, owner of an auto parts place in the Livingston Parish town of Albany where workers were shoveling debris.
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But Lori Steele, spokeswoman for the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office, was upbeat, saying the rescues taking place now are less of a “life-saving nature” and more to help people who were running low on supplies in flooded areas.
