YOUNGSVILLE — Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday that flood recovery in south Louisiana would involve "monthslong" efforts by local, state and federal governments.

"It's going to be monthslong and it's going to require us to keep our focus on the situation, keep our attention on it," Edwards said.

"None of this happens with a snap of a finger," he said.

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The governor flew into Youngsville Thursday morning for discussions with Mayor Ken Ritter and victims, and a look-see at the damage.

He also told reporters that Federal Emergency Management Agency would soon set up a disaster recovery center in the city of Lafayette. So far, there has not been such a center set up in the parish.

FEMA has opened centers in the parishes of St. Landry, St. Helena, St. Martin, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, Ascension, Tangipahoa and Iberia. In East Baton Rouge Parish there are five disaster recovery centers.

And earlier this week, the federal Small Business Administration opened a disaster recovery center for businesses. The center is at the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise — or LITE Center — on Cajundome Boulevard.

Edwards has run non-stop on flood issues since rain began Aug. 11 and drenched parts of south Louisiana. Tens of thousands of residents were flooded out of their homes and thousands of businesses suffered setbacks.

"I'm absolutely mindful that people's lives in Louisiana have been turned upside down," Edwards said.

Like Kimberly Moore. Asked by the governor how she and her family in Highland Ridge were doing, Moore said she wanted answers on why the subdivision flooded when it was shown to be not in a flood zone.

"I would like somebody to let me know," she said.

Mayor Ritter, meanwhile, took the one-on-one opportunity with Edwards to request money to pay for bridge repairs and for extra labor costs associated with storm cleanup.

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Ritter also told Edwards that Youngsville sewer pump stations and asphalt roads were damaged by the almost 30 inches of rain that fell over the course of a few days.

Lafayette Parish sustained tens of millions of dollars in damages from the floods, according to One Acadiana, the nine-parish economic development group formerly known as the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce.

In figures released this week, One Acadiana estimated that 1,500 to 2,000 homes were flooded in Lafayette Parish, and that home, government and business damage in the parish ranges from $41 million to $115.6 million.

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The next highest losses in Acadiana were in Vermilion Parish, where 600 to 1,000 homes were flooded, and financial losses run from $16.4 million to almost $58 million.