He said in a statement Tuesday that the relief operation would cost at least $30 million – warning that the price tag “may grow as we learn more about the scope and magnitude of the devastation”.
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Ronald Robillard, 57, and his 65-year-old brother, William Robillard, have been living next door to each other in Baton Rouge homes owned by the older brother. Cattle huddles together in the water, caused by flooding after the heavy rains in Ascension Parish, in St. Amant, south of Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016.
The Rho Epsilon chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority at Louisiana State University is raising money to help the students in the Baton Rouge area that have been affected by the floods.
There were 14,000 people staying in shelters, mostly in the state capital Baton Rouge and surrounding communities. “I encourage those who can to help out and send your love and prayers their way during this devastating time”, Swift said.
The area that has been hit the hardest is Ascension Parish where nearly a third of all homes have been damaged after floodwater overtopped a levee along the Amite River, according to the Baton Rouge Advocate. Henry said his trailer home was raised off the ground and not damaged, but he wasn’t sure if it would remain that way. He says water had never gotten within 200 yards of his business, until the weekend.
The sheriff of Louisiana’s badly flooded East Baton Rouge Parish says the arrest of 10 people in looting incidents has led to a curfew order. “I don’t know where it’s at right now”, Melancon said. In Ascension Parish, fewer than a quarter of households have flood insurance.
Louisiana’s economic development office is encouraging business owners to register for federal disaster aid and to look at other available support services at www.OpportunityLouisiana.com.
“We are very excited to work in this joint endeavor with the Bossier Sheriff’s Office and other local firefighters as we help our fellow citizens in south Louisiana”, said Benton Fire Chief J.T. Wallace.
Holehouse points to similar issues in Safety Harbor, where properties with waterfront views are designated as being in “non-flood zones” despite the obvious potential risks.
This is a historic flooding event. Ultimately, her house flooded almost to the roof.
David Key used a small boat to get to his house in Prairieville and said it had taken on 5 inches of “muddy, nasty bayou water”.
“I felt this [the curfews] is the best way to protect our residents”, he said. In addition to going through their website, you can also donate from your phone by texting the word LAFLOODS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. The curbs in the Sherwood Forest Oaks neighborhood of Baton Rouge were lined Tuesday afternoon with the detritus of people’s lives: couches and mattresses, flat-screen televisions and dressers, all waiting for a garbage truck to come. “Like everybody says, you still have your family”, he added.
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Joseph Bruno, a New Orleans lawyer who is a veteran of the Katrina insurance wars, fears the greatest needs could be borne by elderly residents who paid off their homes and weren’t required by their bank to carry flood insurance.
