One person who was not concerned about the optics of the delayed visit was Obama himself, who reminded reporters at a press conference in an East Baton Rouge flood zone that he’s stepping down as commander-in-chief in January.
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A concert has been planned for Labor Day in an effort to raise money for the estimated 100,000 people in need of assistance after flooding this month throughout Louisiana. “But the survivors of the flooding in Louisiana are not well served by a political discussion, they’re well served by a competent, effective, strong, coordinated government response”.
The flooding in Louisiana is the worst natural disaster to hit the US since Hurricane Sandy.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Sunday that people around the USA are just starting to pay attention to the extent of flooding that killed at least 13 people in Louisiana.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited Louisiana last week, and goaded the golf-loving President about his absence. He said that he wanted to allow first responders to be allowed to conduct their searches and that the president was welcome to visit as he saw fit.
KTBS 3’s Alanna Quillen was there as his plane touched down in Baton Rouge.
A proposal that might help flooded Louisiana homeowners is being drafted, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro told The Advocate (http://bit.ly/2bA5E9z ). Edwards said that the White House asked him when best to visit the area.
BATON ROUGE, La. – President Barack Obama landed here Tuesday to tour flood-ravaged neighborhoods and to try to avoid the political minefields that his visit presents. “This “no name” storm last week dropped over 7 trillion gallons of rain and that doesn’t include the Amite River which went 10 feet above flood stage and sent huge amounts of water flooding into Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas”. The president has been criticized for waiting until after this New England vacation to tour the flooding.
As contractors continue to scoop up the water-logged debris left behind by the storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said more than 110,000 people have applied for federal aid and more than $107 million has been approved in grants so far.
“This is not a one-off, this is not a photo-op issue”, the president said in a statement to reporters.
“I think people are a little disaster tired, plus there are other competing stories”, Vitter said.
Harry Connick Jr. and Randy Jackson are teaming up to bring aid to their home state of Louisiana.
“I know how resilient the people of Louisiana are, and I know that you will rebuild again”, Obama said.
Some of the mobile homes coming to Louisiana as temporary housing were to be in Baton Rouge on Thursday, FEMA spokesman Kurt Pickering said.
Two weeks later, three Baton Rouge officers were gunned down by a man who apparently was hunting law enforcement officers as retaliation.
Edwards said afterward that like many other areas that flooded this month, people in Youngsville, La., were in areas that had never flooded and didnt have to buy flood insurance.
He pledged to support the almost half a million flood-affected residents “even after the cameras leave”.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards stated publicly that he preferred to have high-profile visitors come after the initial disaster response, lest Louisiana’s resources be tied up with providing security when they could be used for the relief effort. “First, we do it because we are Americans, and Americans help each other”, Danville Area Humane Society Executive Director Paulette Dean wrote in a Facebook post.
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That’s why two pilots are trying lend a hand but they need help from the Central Texas community.
