Obama, who returned on Sunday from his annual August vacation on the MA island, is expected to tour areas in the state capital, Baton Rouge, hit by record flooding and to meet with Louisiana officials to discuss recovery efforts. “When there’s still ongoing search and rescue, when flood waters haven’t receded, when first responders are doing their duty and trying to figure out what’s going on with their families, it’s more appropriate for the President to come a little later”.
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“I come here first and foremost to say that the prayers of the entire nation are with everybody who lost loved ones”.
“Last night, overnight, we still had over 3,000 people in shelters in Louisiana”.
“They had kids high-school kids, they had young kids, they had old people, medium-age people”.
The state said Wednesday that the number of registrants with the Federal Emergency Management Agency has reached 119,000.
“But what I need the folks of Louisiana to understand is you are not by yourself, even after the TV cameras leave”.
Obama also visited the family of Alton Sterling and the family members of the Baton Rouge police officers who were killed in clashes in July.
At least 13 people have died and 86,000 people have registered for U.S. government emergency assistance as a result of the flooding.
– Over $30 million needed to rebuild.
Beyond the powerful symbolism of a presidential visit, much substantive work remains to be done after Obama leaves town, and the scale of the catastrophe argues for a sustained federal role in making the region whole.
Thirty-one XULA students – including athletes Elex Carter, Seth Jackson, Innocent Kukulu, Lucas Martin-Julien, Wesley Pluviose-Philip and Chris Ward from men’s basketball and Clarke Allen, Keairez Coleman, Katelyn McMorris and Darrick Williams from men’s and women’s track and field/cross country – traveled to Baton Rouge Saturday. His agency is in charge of the federal disaster response.
The Republican candidate for the USA presidency, Donald Trump, toured the state on Friday.
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton issued a statement Monday saying she would visit the communities affected by the flooding “at a time when the presence of a political campaign will not disrupt the response, to discuss how we can and will rebuild together”.
The planned visit follows Obama’s visit Tuesday and an earlier trip by Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. We ask the president to head that crusade, and a crusade it must be, for the size of the devastation argues for a massive marshaling of federal resources. Trump tweeted Tuesday as Obama was on his way to the state. The president can be a key voice in championing that goal.
“I don’t mean a few inches of water in their house”. Many people did not have flood insurance.
“I need all Americans to stay focused on this”, he continued. Therefore, we have created this site so that everyone can donate directly to help those employees who suffered losses from the flood.
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One facility had to evacuate because of the flooding that left more than 60 thousand homes damaged – some of them once belonged to the staff of the nursing facility in Baton Rouge.
