Louisiana Governor Seeks Major Disaster Declaration After Ida’s Landfall

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has asked President Joe Biden for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration due to the severe impact from Hurricane Ida, which slammed into Louisiana’s coast on Aug. 29 in Port Fourchon as a Category 4 storm with 155 mile per hour winds.

The governor made the disaster declaration request within few hours after Ida made landfall, with the storm impacting Louisiana and immediately leaving thousands without power. Storm surge and damaging winds continue to assault areas along the coast and are expected to impact areas further inland through Monday.

Ida struck Louisiana on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall as a Category 3 storm that devastated the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts. Katrina was blamed for 1,800 deaths and caused levee breaches and catastrophic flooding in New Orleans. According to the Insurance Information Institute, Katrina remains the costliest U.S. hurricane on record. The massive 2005 storm caused $65 billion in insured losses when it occurred, an amount that includes losses from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), according to the I.I.I. In 2020 dollars, losses resulting from Katrina totaled $86.6 billion.

Gov. Edwards has been quoted as saying his state is not the same as it was when Katrina hit 16 years ago. The federal levee system that protects New Orleans and coastal Louisiana has undergone a series of major improvements since 2005.

Previous to Ida’s landfall, Edwards said 5,000 National Guard troops were being staged in 14 parishes for search and rescue efforts with high-water vehicles, boats and helicopters, the Associated Press reported. Additionally, 10,000 linemen were placed on standby prior to the storm to respond to electrical outages.

“Hurricane Ida is one of the strongest storms to ever hit Louisiana. It is our goal to assist our local agencies and the citizens of the state as quickly as possible, and we have pre-positioned search and rescue teams, boats and other assets to begin helping people as soon as it is safe. This major disaster declaration will help Louisiana better respond to this crisis and protect the health and safety of our people, and I hope the White House will act quickly so we can begin getting additional aid and assistance to our people,” Gov. Edwards said in a media release.

The governor is seeking individual assistance as well as critical needs assistance for the parishes initially dealing with storms impact. Many households in the requested areas are or will be displaced from their primary residence for an extended period of time. He also requests Public Assistance Category A, Debris Removal and Categories C through G for infrastructure damage in the state.

Additionally, Gov. Edwards requests Public Assistance, Category B, related to emergency protective actions, shelter and temporary housing costs. To better assist local areas recover from Hurricane Ida, the state is asking that the federal cost share for both Category A and B work be increased to 100% for 30 days. Finally, Gov. Edwards requested hazard mitigation statewide.

On Aug. 27, President Biden approved the governor’s request for a Federal Declaration of Emergency prior to the storm making landfall. A Major Disaster Declaration will open up additional assistance to the state.

According to an Aug. 29, 7 p.m. CST, report from the National Hurricane Center, Ida’s heavy rainfall will continue to pound the southeast Louisiana coast, spreading northeast into the Lower Mississippi Valley throughout the evening and into Monday. Total rainfall accumulations of 10 to 18 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 24 inches are possible across southeast Louisiana into far southern Mississippi through Aug. 30.

Topics Louisiana