Historic Problems Drain Away for Evangeline Parish Hospital

Editor’s note: Across Louisiana, residents are rebuilding from damaging floods or taking steps to protect themselves against the next time disaster strikes. FEMA takes an occasional look at ways residents have built back to create a more resilient Louisiana.

BATON ROUGE, La. — An Evangeline Parish hospital overwhelmed by historic flooding in the past stayed dry during 2016’s floods with the help of recent drainage enhancements.

The Town of Mamou—which owns the 180-bed Savoy Medical Center—received a FEMA grant to better divert rainwater from the hospital’s business office. Flood-related issues caused by an overflowing drainage canal created frequent disruptions at the office prior to the drainage enhancements two years ago.

A FEMA grant helped to correct the flooding problems. New underground drainage pipes and storm drains corrected the problem by ensuring rainwater flows away from both the business office and a nearby nursing home.

The project cost about $336,000. Studies have shown that every $1 spent on projects like the Savoy Medical Center prevents $4 in future damage.

Tony Costa, the facilities director for the hospital, said he didn’t know what to expect given his experiences with flooding there. However, he’s happy his facility can now better withstand flooding and remain dry.

“(W)e did not have an issue with flooding,” he said of 2016. “In fact, we haven’t had a problem with flooding since the drainage project was done.”     
                                                                                                                 
The grant was through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The program provides grants to states and local governments for mitigation projects.

Residents continuing to rebuild after the 2016 floods and needing assistance are encouraged to look into the Restore Louisiana’s Homeowner Assistance program. Start by completing the online survey at restore.la.gov.

For daily DR-4277-LA updates, visit our disaster webpage at www.fema.gov/disaster/4277. Follow us on Twitter @FEMARegion6 and Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA.

Original author: felicia.jordan
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