Atchafalaya flooding gets disaster declaration

The federal government has issued a disaster declaration for parishes identified as having been impacted by flooding of the Atchafalaya Basin between April 25 and July 7.

At the request of Gov. Bobby Jindal, the Federal Emergency Management Agency designated St. Mary, Terrebonne, Lafourche, Assumption, Avoyelles, Concordia, East Carroll, Madison, Pointe Coupee, St. Charles, St. James, St. Landry, St. Martin, Tensas and West Felicia parishes as disaster areas because of folding in those areas. No dollar amount was offered as to what FEMA said it would deliver to the state.

“The funding will help our local governments and communities recover from this unprecedented flooding event,” the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Interim Director Pat Santos said.

According to Santos, the FEMA declaration will allow for federal assistance in the repair of infrastructure damage by the flood. This would include damage to levees, public buildings and flood control stations. An initial emergency declaration for anticipated flood damage was granted in May, even before flood levels reached the Tri-parish area.

“Basically, all [the disaster declaration] does is confirm what we were told previously,” Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet said. “It’s not any new news. [The payout for any expenses] is still a 75/25 split.”

Claudet said that parishes like Terrebonne that worked to protect themselves from the opening of the Morganza spillway, should be treated equally to those that took on damaging floodwater and receive 100 percent federal funding for repairs. “It only makes sense that they would do that,” he said.

Hazard mitigation funding will allow the state to invest in projects to protect against future flooding, with FEMA identifying what dollar amount will be available in the future.