WASHINGTON – Congressman Ralph Abraham, M.D., R-Alto, issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s announcement that the federal government would cover 90 percent of the public costs as a result of the August floods in southern Louisiana.
All of the 5th District’s southern parishes – St. Landry, West Feliciana, East Feliciana, St. Helena, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes – were included in the President’s Aug. 14 disaster declaration.
“The cost-share reduction for the August flood was a good first step, however, I’m working with FEMA to determine why it did not grant a cost-share reduction for the more than 40,000 people flooded in March. The March flood affected mostly rural parishes whose already-limited resources have been stretched even thinner by historic flooding. We might not have gotten a presidential visit or a spotlight by the national media, but we still got 20-plus inches of rain that flooded our homes, churches, farms, businesses and schools, too. The administration should grant a cost-share reduction for the victims of the March flood. It is the right thing to do,” Dr. Abraham said.
The March flood affected about 40,000 people across 36 parishes. These parishes include Allen, Ascension, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Catahoula, Claiborne, De Soto, East Carroll, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, La Salle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Union, Vernon, Washington, Webster, West Carroll and Winn.
Last month, Dr. Abraham led the entire Louisiana delegation in asking that FEMA grant the cost-share adjustment for both March and August flood events.
The parishes that will benefit by this cost-share reduction include East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena, Tangipahoa, Acadia, Ascension, Avoyelles, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Vermillion, Washington and West Feliciana.
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