BATON ROUGE, La. — If your home or business is damaged by a flood, you may be required to meet certain building requirements in your community to reduce future flood damage before you repair or rebuild. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Standard Flood Insurance Policy provides Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) coverage, which may be available to help cover the costs of meeting those requirements, subject to eligibility.If eligible, NFIP insurance policyholders may receive up to $30,000 of ICC coverage to help pay the costs to bring their building into...

BATON ROUGE, La. – The U.S. Small Business Administration is opening a disaster loan outreach center on Thursday, Oct. 6, in St. Landry Parish to assist Louisiana flood survivors. The center will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, until further notice. St. Landry ParishLocation:  Word Ministries                  1960 West Laurel Avenue                  Eunice, LA 70535Hours:      9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Monday through Friday)The new disaster loan outreach center will be transitioning from the FEMA disaster recovery center at the same address that will cease operations at 6 p.m. on Wednesday,...

BATON ROUGE, La. – FEMA has awarded the state approximately $146 million to reimburse local entities for expenses related to response and recovery efforts as a result of August’s severe storms and floods.Here is a breakdown of the funding: Nearly $40 million for debris removal expenses in East Baton Rouge Parish.More than $6 million for debris removal expenses in Livingston Parish.More than $5 million for expenses related to the National Guard’s public safety actions during the disaster response.Nearly $95 million for the state’s Shelter at Home program that provides emergency repairs to...

BATON ROUGE, La.— A quick fix may change your decision if you applied for FEMA help following Louisiana’s August severe storms and floods and you disagree with your determination letter.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Everybody has a right to appeal. Read your determination letter carefully to understand FEMA’s decision and know exactly what you need to do for your appeal.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Many times applicants just need to submit some extra documents for FEMA to process their application. FEMA can reconsider you in some cases if you:Submit insurance documents. Provide documents from your insurance company that detail your coverage...

BATON ROUGE, La. – Students at Louisiana colleges or universities in areas affected by the August flooding may be eligible for FEMA disaster grants to help with damage to or losses of personal vehicles, clothing, text books and school supplies.Disaster assistance loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are available up to $40,000 for personal property loss of vehicles, furniture and other personal items.Students do not need to be permanent residents of the designated parishes to be eligible for assistance. However, the property damage or loss must have occurred in...

BATON ROUGE, La. – You have until Friday, Oct. 14 to apply for disaster unemployment assistance (DUA) if you lost work as a result of Louisiana’s August severe storms and floods.DUA may be available if the disaster affected your employment—even if you’re self-employed, a farmer or a farm worker—and you fall under one of the following categories:Your workplace was damaged or destroyed.Transportation to work was unavailable.You could not get to your job because you had to travel through an affected area.The disaster prevented you from starting a new job.Your business suffered...

BATON ROUGE, La. — As Louisianans repair or rebuild their homes damaged by August floods, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and local hardware and home-improvement stores have teamed up to provide free information on making homes stronger and safer.FEMA mitigation specialists are still on hand to provide information at the following area Home Depot and Lowe’s stores through Oct. 15. They are available to answer questions and offer home-improvement tips and proven methods to prevent and lessen damage from future disasters. Most of the information is aimed at people who prefer...

BATON ROUGE, La. – Recovery officials estimate that recent flooding left 4.8 million cubic yards or 80,000 truckloads of debris in its wake. Removal of that debris is an important sign of progress in disaster recovery, but it takes time. On Sept. 25, debris removal hit the 55-percent completion mark.For the August flooding, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Public Assistance program will reimburse eligible Louisiana jurisdictions 90 percent of reasonable costs involved in debris removal. To receive reimbursement for debris removal, a local jurisdiction must be eligible for the program and...

BATON ROUGE, La. – Disaster recovery centers will open on Friday, August 26, in Iberville, Livingston and Vermilion parishes to assist Louisiana flood survivors. The centers are open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week, until further notice.These disaster recovery centers are located at the following addresses:Iberville Parish East Iberville Gym 3285 Highway 75St. Gabriel, LA 70776Livingston Parish American Legion Hall 26200 Highway 43Springfield, LA 70462Vermilion Parish Old Health Unit401 S. St. Charles St. Abbeville, LA 70510Survivors may locate other centers near them at fema.gov/disaster-recovery-centers or by calling the...

BATON ROUGE, La. — As Louisianans repair or rebuild their homes damaged by August floods, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and local hardware and home improvement stores have teamed up to provide free information on making homes stronger and safer.FEMA mitigation specialists will be on hand to provide information at area Lowe’s stores from Sept. 26 through Oct. 15. They will be available to answer questions and offer home improvement tips and proven methods to prevent and lessen damage from future disasters. Most of the information is aimed at people...