President Joe Biden has approved Louisiana’s request for a major disaster declaration in the wake of Hurricane Francine, Gov. Jeff Landry announced Tuesday.
The declaration means eight southeastern Louisiana parishes—Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary, and Terrebonne —will receive federal aid to support relief efforts after the storm.
“This federal assistance is vital to help Louisiana rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine. I appreciate the hard work our federal delegation, local officials, and our administration put in to get this over the finish line," Landry said.
Francine hit southern Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane with wind speeds near 96 mph, triggering flash flooding and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.
Terrebonne Parish was hit the hardest. Parish President Jason Bergeron said local levees saw up to 11 feet of storm surge. The floodwaters overtopped one levee on the western side of the parish, but no homes flooded.
Bergeron told reporters he was hopeful the attention from Francine would help bring more federal aid to the parish, which is still grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
“You hate to see that happen,” he said. “But again, if that's the thing that moves the needle a little bit, it matters.”
The aid will help with displacement, temporary lodging, basic home repair costs, personal property loss and other disaster-related needs.
New Benefits Available
Serious Needs Assistance: A one-time payment of $750 per household that helps with expenses like replacing food, water and other necessities.
Displacement Assistance: This money helps those who needed temporary lodging after the storm. It can be used to stay in hotels or with family and friends while you look for temporary housing.
How to Apply
People seeking federal assistance in the affected parishes can apply for aid at DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or by using the FEMA App.
For more instructions on how to apply, visit FEMA's YouTube page.
What you'll need when you apply
- Current phone number
- Social Security number
- Your address at the time of the disaster and the address where you are now staying
- List of damage and losses
- Banking information if you choose direct deposit
- If insured, the policy number or the agent and/or the company name
Additional assistance
FEMA also has a streamlined application process so people can apply to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and for disaster assistance at the same time. It also offers support to uninsured homeowners, self-employed people, those with disabilities and those who need to replace a disaster-damaged computer. There is also a streamlined process for those who need to extend temporary housing assistance. More information about additional assistance is available at fema.gov/disaster/4817.
