The White House says Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson will visit Louisiana on Thursday to review the federal government’s response to the widespread flooding that has damaged tens of thousands of businesses and houses, The Associated Press reports.
Spokeswoman Jennifer Friedman says President Barack Obama also spoke with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate this morning to get an update after Fugate’s visit to the state.
She says Obama directed Fugate to use all available resources to assist in the response and recovery, and to regularly update him. Obama received the briefing while in Martha’s Vineyard, a Massachusetts island.
Residents in 20 parishes are eligible for disaster assistance as a result of a federal disaster declaration. Friedman says more than 70,000 people have registered for individual assistance and more than 9,000 have filed flood insurance claims.
The U.S. Small Business Administration plans to open several south Louisiana locations to help businesses damaged by record flooding. Federal aid is available for businesses located within the 20 parishes included in the federal disaster declaration. The SBA provides loans of up to $2 million to repair and replace damaged equipment, inventory and property.
At least 11 people have died, and tens of thousands of businesses and homes have been damaged from flooding.
Also, the number of Louisiana residents staying in shelters is falling as floodwater drains from the worst-hit parishes in the state. State officials say 6,000 people remained in shelters today, down from more than 11,000 earlier in the week.
It wasn’t immediately clear why the number has dropped: whether some who evacuated as a precaution didn’t get flooded or if others moved in with family and friends or returned to stay in damaged houses.
At an events facility in Ascension Parish, 1,100 animals remained sheltered. More than 40,000 homes were damaged and at least 30,000 people and 1,400 pets were rescued as the storm hit parishes across south Louisiana with heavy rains and severe flooding.
