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Edwards lays out upcoming housing options for flood victims

President Barack Obama gives Melissa Williams a kiss as her husband LeRoy Williams watches, during Obama’s tours of Castle Place, a flood-damaged area of Baton Rouge, La. “This is, how do you make sure a month from now, three months from now, six months from now, people still are getting the help that they need”, Obama said.

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But Obama dismissed those critics, saying the only thing that mattered was the professionalism of the Federal Emergency Management Agency response. FEMA has also approved and issued $11 million to National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policyholders in Louisiana who sustained damages due to the floods, according to the White House.

“But what I need the folks of Louisiana to understand is you are not by yourself, even after the TV cameras leave”. The president met privately with the family of Alton Sterling, a black man whose death last month in a police shooting sparked protests and mass arrests. In addition, about 22,000 gas meters in Baton Rouge were submerged by floodwater and will have to be replaced. “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.

As a presidential candidate, Obama was quick to criticize the “unconscionable ineptitude” of the Bush administration.

Democratic hopeful, Hillary Clinton too, on Monday said she also plans a visit to the flooded region.

He did say he thought the president’s visit was “timely”.

The White House argued Obama stayed away to focus on the federal response, not to exploit the situation for a photo op, and because Louisiana’s governor urged him to delay his visit. “But Im glad to see everybody is safe, at least.”.

“To have the president come, it means a lot to show that he cares and the federal government cares about what we are going through”, Woods said.

Displaced by the flooding, Margaret Krumholt would welcome a trailer — or whatever type of mobile housing FEMA and the state want to offer — so her family could move back to their damaged property. The president can be a key voice in championing that goal. “I know that his mother in law’s house was really affected by it”.

Many people with damage from the flooding didn’t have flood insurance, making recovery more hard.

That kind of creativity and commitment from Washington will be equally critical in helping Louisiana to rebound from this month’s historic flood.

Visibly sweating in the humid 92-degree weather, Obama hugged residents as he went from door-to-door asking about flood levels and relief efforts.

He joined seven people from a sister facility in Botetourt County on the trip to Baton Rouge to help rehab centers cope with the devastation.

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Neither the Dallas office of emergency preparedness nor our mayor’s office has been contacted for help – more signs that we just aren’t experiencing a ripple effect.

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