As he toured a battered neighborhood, Obama reassured residents that the federal response would be robust and tried to buck up beleaguered residents, many of whom have said they feel their plight has been ignored both by national officials and the mainstream media. As a candidate in 2008, he was a sharp critic of President George W. Bush’s response to Hurricane Katrina. In many instances, residents say such coverage wasn’t required because they didn’t live in a designated flood zone. The White House disclosed that he received a series of briefings on the flooding during his vacation. “I’ve got no help from the federal government”.
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Heavy trucks and their works crews have begun hauling away mounds of moldy carpet, warped flooring and water-damaged furniture as south Louisiana digs out from flooding the governor estimated Tuesday had wrecked more than 100,000 homes.
” ‘I’m not complaining in any way about our federal partnership, ‘ Edwards said in a news conference Thursday”. “When Vice President Gore arrived 45 minutes early on a visit to South Africa for Mandela’s inauguration, local police shut down the roads sooner than they should have, and thousands of cars were held on the entry and exit ramps of Cape Town’s main highway”.
“As of today federal support has reached $US127 million [$167 million]”.
Obama will visit a flood-damaged neighborhood in East Baton Rouge Parish and will be briefed by federal officials, emergency workers and state and local politicians. Huggins requested more prayers for all the victims as they slowly recover from the disastrous flood.
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.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of life”, he said after his tour.
As he announced the disaster housing plans Wednesday, Gov. John Bel Edwards described a “shelter at home” program as the more desirable option. Bill Cassidy, R-La., handed out his cards to residents. “Baby, let me tell you my community has come through”. He said that he preferred Obama wait to visit, in order to “preserve resources”. It’s past time for the president to pay a personal visit, showing his solidarity with suffering Americans’.
Mike Steele, a spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, says the warehouse is being operated as a partnership with the state and the Louisiana Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster.
Before leaving Louisiana, Obama paid another visit he has been criticized for delaying. Last month, 37-year-old Alton Sterling was shot to death by police in Baton Rouge at close range, an encounter captured on video that spawned immediate outrage.
Fox News White House Correspondent Kevin Corke is traveling with the president and reports from Louisiana.
Mr Obama has been lampooned for not cutting short a two-week vacation in Martha’s Vineyard to visit the Gulf Coast state.
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The White House says Obama will also meet with the families of officers killed or injured almost two weeks later by a gunman, apparently in response to Sterling’s killing.
