U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Baton Rouge today to tour some flood-ravaged areas of Louisiana and meet with local officials.
Last weekend, the state continued to recover from the floods, with search parties going door to door, looking for survivors or bodies trapped by flooding so powerful that in some cases caskets floated away from cemeteries.
At least 13 people died in the flooding, which swept through southern parts of the state after torrential rains lashed the region.
President Barack Obama and his family returned to the White House Sunday from a vacation in Martha’s Vineyard. He goes to Louisiana Tuesday. (Ron Sachs/Getty Images)
While Obama was criticized for not cutting short his Martha’s Vineyard vacation to go to Louisiana, the White House has pushed back.
“I can tell you what the president’s been focused on is the response on the ground and the people whose lives in Louisiana have been turned upside down by this terrible flooding event,” spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday.
“And the response you’ve seen from the federal government has been effective. And the president and other members of his team that have operational responsibilities have been effective.”
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency is opening additional disaster recovery centres in the Baton Rouge area.
New centres will open Tuesday in Gonzales, Baton Rouge and Zachary to help Louisiana flood survivors. The centres will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week until further notice.
Representatives from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, FEMA, the Small Business Administration, volunteer groups and other agencies are at the centre to answer questions about disaster assistance and low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters and businesses.
Low-interest disaster loans from the SBA are available for businesses of all sizes including landlords, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters.
So far, more than 106,000 people have registered for federal disaster aid.
Caskets being unearthed by flooding is a uniquely Louisiana problem, because the water table is so high people generally can’t be buried six feet under. Caskets are often encased in vaults that are partially above ground.
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