As floodwaters continue to devastate communities throughout south Louisiana, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and its partners are set to begin today and tomorrow working on the economic impact assessment of local flooding.
BRAC President and CEO Adam Knapp says the organization will try to gather as much data as possible to determine the economic impact of the floods and the number of affected businesses.
But it’s still too early to tell what the assessment will entail and what the total economic impact of the flood damage will be, he says.
“Everyone has kind of been in disaster response mode,” says Knapp, who has been in communication with state officials and BRAC partners from across the state.
Waters from local rivers and bayous have spilled into neighborhoods and commercial areas throughout south Louisiana. East Baton Rouge, Ascension and Livingston are among the parishes hit hard by flooding as numerous homes, restaurants and other businesses took in water this weekend, and thousands have been displaced.
On Sunday, President Barack Obama signed an order declaring East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Tangipahoa and St. Helena parishes major disaster areas, making federal assistance available to those in need.
Knapp wants individuals and businesses to know they can register for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They also can take advantage of programs from the U.S. Small Business Administration once the federal centers are open, he says.
The SBA provides economic disaster injury loans to qualified small businesses and most nonprofit organizations in declared disaster areas that have suffered economic injury, regardless of physical damage. The SBA also provides other low interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses and private nonprofits in declared disaster areas. The loans enable those impacted by disasters to replace real estate, personal property, machinery and equipment, inventory and business assets.
Meanwhile, the Louisiana office of the National Federation of Independent Business advises business owners who have been affected by flooding to begin documenting damage with photo and videos. It recommends holding off on making permanent repairs until a claims adjuster can come to your business and assess the damage. Also, be sure to save receipts for what you spend on repairs.
NFIB has a list of resources to help small businesses and others recover from a disaster.
—Alexandria Burris
