In August, parts of Louisiana were hit with heavy rain that caused severe flooding, the death of thirteen people, and millions of dollars in damage. The storm brought more than two and a half feet of rain to part of the Livingston Parish, and left members of the Coast Guard and the National Guard to help more than 20,000 residents and 1,000 pets to safety.
In a New York Times article, John Nielsen-Gammon, the state climatologist in Texas, attributed the large amount of rain to climate change. “There’s definitely an increase in heavy rainfall due to climate change. The actual increase from place to place is going to be variable because of the randomness of the weather. Some places will see a dramatic change,” he said.
According to CNN, the storm caused at least $8.7 million in damages, leaving 134,000 homes registering for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). However, FEMA has reported so far, only 115,000 homes have had inspections completed.
Despite efforts to set up temporary shelters and mobile homes, a CNN article reported as many as 2,600 citizens are still living in homes that have not been treated for mold and are still unfit to live in. FEMA committed $300 million for emergency home repair and rental housing and assigned 400 volunteers, but has been slow with assistance.
With the lack of immediate federal response, citizens and nonprofit organizations have attempted to step in and aid in the clean up. Broderick Bagert, lead organizer of Together Baton Rouge, a community group, built an online intake system and database for the homeowner’s requests for assistance in gutting homes. The group also had volunteers knock on doors of homes that didn’t appear to have been gutted already. Lastly, after the volunteers then sent out additional volunteers to gut homes themselves, taking out muddy and moldy floors and walls.
As more homes are inspected and gutted, the cost of cleanup soars. The Guardian reported the cost of cleanup could potentially reach $15 billion by the end of the project. With only 20% of homes affected having held flood insurance Louisiana Governor, John Bel Edwards, requested a $2 billion bailout package on Friday, September 9, in addition to the money the government has already pledged. Edwards, who requested the money while on a trip to Washington, stressed Louisiana would not be able to move forward without the cash. “Simply put, we cannot recover without it,” he said.
While no decision on the bailout has been made, President Obama, in a letter to Edwards, wrote due to the expensive nature of the flood that the government would cover 90% of the costs, leaving the state to only pay back 10% of the funds. This is atypical, as states typically pay back 20% of costs.