$146 million paid so far in ongoing flood recovery

BATON ROUGE - Louisiana has received $146 million in disaster assistance from FEMA, the federal government announced Monday.

The funds are for the state to use to reimburse local entities for expenses related to response and recovery efforts as a result of August’s severe storms and floods.

The $146 million covers:

- 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 disaster-damaged homes of disaster survivors.

Twenty-six parishes were designated a disaster area: Acadia, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Livingston, Point Coupee, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Vermilion, Washington, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.

FEMA typically reimburses 75 percent of eligible expenses, however, applicants will be reimbursed 90 percent of eligible expenses given the magnitude of the August severe storms and floods. The federal portion is paid directly to the state, which then disburses the funds to the applicants.

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