BATON ROUGE, La. — Following Louisiana’s August flood, more than 625,000 people have received information to help their recovery as a result of collaboration between nearly 300 private sector entities and FEMA.
The private sector is essential to move recovery forward because of its ability to connect with communities efficiently to provide helpful recovery information. Louisiana private entities that have helped survivors after the August flood included businesses, chambers of commerce, business and trade associations, universities, nonprofits and utility companies.
During the recovery missions for both the March and August Louisiana floods, the Director of Operations of the LA Business Emergency Operation Center (LA BEOC) embedded with FEMA’s Private Sector Division at the Joint Field Office. The collaborative effort of this endeavor enabled rapid and efficient coordination with local and state partners in resolving issues and trends affecting the private sector.
Below are examples of private entities helping Louisiana recovery following the August floods:
Home improvement stores hosted FEMA mitigation specialists at 31 locations. They provided information on how to repair and rebuild safer, stronger and smarter to more than 31,600 homeowners and independent contractors. Stores included 84 Lumber, Albertsons, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Price Building, Stine Lumber, Sullivan’s Hardware and Wal-Mart.Companies displayed messages on digital billboards in affected communities to encourage survivors to register for FEMA assistance. Electronic messages are delivered quickly and seen by thousands of people who may need help. Examples included the Outdoor Advertising Association of America’s 10 digital billboards and Walgreen’s digital reader boards at 62 store locations.Utility companies added FEMA help information on 79,650 bill statements for City of Rayne, Jeff Davis Electric Co-Op, Jeff Davis Water District, Lafayette Utilities System, South Rayne Water Corp., and Wards Three Avoyelles Water customers.The Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Association hosted the first Louisiana Affordable Housing Solutions Expo at the Celtic Media Centre. Other expo sponsors included, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the Louisiana Business Emergency Operation Center, and the Louisiana Housing Corporation.To learn more about FEMA’s Private Sector Division initiatives, visit www.fema.gov/private-sector.
