Share

President tours flood-damaged areas in Louisiana

The president toured a neighborhood in East Baton Rouge Parish ravaged in the widespread flooding that has claimed more than a dozen lives and damaged some 60,000 homes.

Advertisement

“The prayers of the entire nation is with everybody who lost loved ones”, he said. “We are heartbroken by the loss of life”. He says it’s also about “people’s roots”. But the flyover became a symbol for the ineffectiveness of the federal response itself, mainly that of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s.

Obama said he wants Louisianans to know they’re not alone in recovering from the flood, even after the news cameras leave. “I’m asking every American to do what you can to help get families and local businesses back on their feet”. He did speak about the issues of policing, race and violence during a visit to Dallas to eulogize five police officers killed in another attack targeting law enforcement.

For days, critics hammered Obama for continuing his vacation on Martha’s Vineyard in MA as flooding wreaked havoc on Louisiana, claiming the lives of at least 13 people and displacing tens of thousands of residents.

He says rice is likely to take a $33 million hit, corn $10 million and sugarcane at least $3 million.

Obama signed a disaster declaration on August 14 that makes federal funding available for assistance such as grants for temporary housing and home repairs, and low-priced loans to cover losses for uninsured property.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson arrived in Baton Rouge on August 18. Eight federal disaster recovery centers have been opened.

The White House released a statement the afternoon of August 19, announcing Obama’s trip and saying, “The President is mindful of the impact that his travel has on first responders and wants to ensure that his presence does not interfere with ongoing recovery efforts”.

The one-day Air Force One fly-in comes four days after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump visited the state, suggesting that Obama should have canceled his Martha’s Vineyard vacation to do the same. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who has not toured Louisiana, released a statement saying that “relief efforts can’t afford any distractions” and urging people to donate.

Krichel told CNN’s Nick Valencia he had lost a classic auto he had been holding onto for years, a motorcycle he had been working on since the early 1980s and a family Bible from the late 1800s in the deluge.

The president also praised FEMA for its efforts coordinating a federal response, which he said has already reached $127 million in assistance.

” ‘I’m not complaining in any way about our federal partnership, ‘ Edwards said in a news conference Thursday”.

The Baton Rouge Advocate editorialized last week that Obama was “late to this crisis”, criticizing him for playing golf and raising money for Democratic candidates instead of coming to Louisiana. The president can be a key voice in championing that goal.

Usually, homeowners have 30 days from when coverage ends to renew their insurance policies under the National Flood Insurance Program. Access to flood insurance is important not only to Louisiana, but communities across America that could easily be surprised by a flood of their own.

Advertisement

As he toured a battered neighborhood and spoke to reporters, Obama reassured residents that the federal response would be robust and he tried to buck up beleaguered residents of the water-soaked region, many of whom have said they feel their plight has been ignored by national officials and the media. In an interview with NPR last week, Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon said, “The average cost of insuring a home in Louisiana is, for many, a budget-buster”.

David Key boats away from his flooded home after reviewing the damage in Prairieville La. Tuesday Aug. 16 2016. Key an insurance adjuster fled his home as the flood water was rising with his wife and three children and returned today to assess the