BATON ROUGE, La. - It’s been three months since Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana as the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever strike the U.S. As Louisianans rebuild, over $2.5 billion in federal grants, loans and flood insurance payments support their ongoing recovery.
Major Accomplishments
Over $2.5 billion in federal assistance has been provided to survivors to date, including
* $1.1 billion in low-interest Small Business Administration loans for families and businesses.
* $580 million in housing assistance for homeowners and renters.
* $441 million for other needs assistance, including medical bills, vehicle replacement, and cleaning.
* $513 million in National Flood Insurance Program claims.
* $2.7 million for Disaster Unemployment Insurance claims.
* 25 Disaster Recovery Centers established across Louisiana, 8 of which are still open, operating, and available to assist survivors.
** Over 552,000 Louisianans have been approved for individual assistance, while FEMA staff have knocked on 186,000 doors in disaster-affected parishes.
* At the peak, 22,183 survivors were temporarily sheltered in hotels and other transitional lodging.
* FEMA Mitigation Specialists have offered free rebuilding and repair advice to over 14,608 survivors.
* 152,142 survivors received expedited rental assistance for utility outages, inaccessible or damaged dwellings.
** 96,941 were lower income applicants who would have otherwise received delayed assistance or no assistance at all.
* $27.8 million in public assistance grants currently obligated for local governments and nonprofits.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Blue Roof Mission
* 33,625 “Blue Roofs" installed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, allowing survivors to live safely in their damaged residences while making permanent repairs.
** USACE, in cooperation with the FEMA and the state of Louisiana, launched a pilot program to explore temporary roofing options for homes that were otherwise ineligible for Blue Roofs.
*** The program, called Roof Wrap, focused on using shrink wrap materials that are installed under the roof via furring strips, then heated to shrink the material and create a water-tight seal.
Source: Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency
