Governor Edwards in Washington Seeking Federal Storm Assistance
Hurricane Laura struck Louisiana's coastline more than a year ago. The one year anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Delta is about two weeks away. Since those two storms hit the coast of Louisiana we've been hit with Hurricane Zeta and Hurricane Ida. And, we've had an ice storm and a couple of flash flooding incidents.
To say the people in Louisiana have been through a lot would be an understatement. That's not even counting what politicians have attempted to do to our oil and gas industry either. To make matters worse, issues brought on by the disasters of last year were not completely addressed before we started having disaster issues this year.
As people in southeastern Louisiana are clamouring for a place to stay with a roof over their head because of damage caused by Hurricane Ida last month. There are still quite a few people in southwestern Louisiana who are not much better off following the storms that struck their part of the state about a year ago.
That's why Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards is in our nation's capital today and tomorrow. Governor Edwards is going to once again attempt to light a fire under federal assistance moderators to see if our state and its residents can get the help we desperately need.
Just last week Calcasieu Parish which was severely damaged by Hurricanes Laura and Delta last year had to request state assistance to keep funding available for school reconstruction. You'd think that would be a priority to Louisiana's congressional delegation but I guess they're too busy picking fights on social media or asking inane questions during committee meetings.
Right now our state's biggest need as far as storm recovery goes is housing. We need to get people back into their homes with a solid roof over their heads. As you might imagine the insurance companies are going to fight that tooth and nail. Well, not fight the return to homes but fight the paying for the repairs.
Governor Edwards will be speaking with federal officials who control the purse strings on this important assistance. The Governor is not only going to ask about housing assistance but federal matching funds for storm cleanup and debris removal. Oh, and somebody has to cover the costs of all that overtime that first responders have had to put in too.
Let's hope the Governor's visit will be fruitful and Louisiana's congressional delegation will lend a hand in opening some doors and ramping up the response time. Look, it's what we elected those people to do. Let's hold them accountable.
25 Lafayette Memories from the Past 25 Years