Breaking IKE News

• Another fixed-site DRC has opened at:

  MOBILE DISASTER RECOVERY CENTER OPENING MONDAY IN ST. MARTIN PARISH 

  (St. Martinville, La.)-FEMA will be opening a Mobile Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in St. Martin Parish on Monday, October 6, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. for those who suffered hurricane damage.  The DRC will be open from 9:00am – 6:00 p.m. for five days or until further notice at the following location:

        St. Martin Fire Training Facility

       1035 A Ruth Bridge Hwy

       Breaux Bridge, LA  70517

  Residents of Lower St. Martin (Stephensville & Belle River) can visit the DRC located at the Amelia Park.  The DRC will be open from 9:00am – 6:00pm (except on Sundays), until further notice.

       1109 Lake Palourd Bypass Road, Amelia, LA 70340.

  Residents are encouraged to register with FEMA before visiting the DRC. There are two ways to register:

  1.      Log on to www.fema.gov; or

  2.      Call FEMA's toll-free number, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or TTY 1-800-462-7585. Both numbers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until further notice.   

  Residents must register for Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Ike separately.

  In order to expedite the process, residents should have the following proper identification with them when they visit the DRC;  Social security number, insurance information, proof of address and contact numbers.

   

   

   St. Mary Parish

  Amelia Park

  1109 Lake Palourde Bypass Road

  Amelia, LA 70380

   

  Currently, DRCs are open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. except for the mobile sites, according to officials from the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

   

• September 18, 2008: Richard Daigle and Cynthia Cowell of the U. S. Small Business Administration discuss programs for disaster recovery. click here to listen and read: U. S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION FACT SHEET - DISASTER LOANS

• FEMA Expands Public Assistance Program Assistance to 25 Parishes, at Request of Governor Jindal

   BATON ROUGE – At the request of Governor Jindal, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) amended its disaster declaration for Hurricane Gustav to add all remaining categories of Public Assistance (PA) for 25 parishes. The following parishes are now eligible for the FEMA Public Assistance (PA) program for categories C-G, which includes repairs to damaged public facilities: Acadia, Ascension, Assumption, Catahoula, East Baton Rouge, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, La Salle, Lafourche, Livingston, Natchitoches, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Helena, St. James, St. Landry, Tangipahoa, Vernon, Washington, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana, and Winn. The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is conducting Public Assistance Applicant Briefings throughout the state for applicants. The Governor requested that all 64 parishes be provided federal assistance following Hurricane Gustav, and is continuing to work with the federal government to add additional parishes to their declaration for assistance.

   

• Corps opens and changes Blue Roof collection sites
  UPDATED--BATON ROUGE, La., Sept 16, 2008 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisiana
  Recovery Field Office, in Baton Rouge, La., has some more Blue Roof Right of Entry
  collection sites and changes today.  All collection site days/hours of operation are
  subject to the damage results from Hurricane Ike.
  Iberia Parish:  Open Thru October 2nd from 1p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Main Library, 445 East
  Main St., New Iberia. 

  Terrebonne Parish: CHANGED location to – Town Hall, 805 Barrow St., Houma LA
  To find the location of all of the Corps’ Blue Roof collections sites in Louisiana,
  Call 1-888-ROOF-BLU (1-888-766-3258)
  The Corps’ provides FEMA emergency support function 3 (ESF3) mission, response and
  recovery for temporary roofing. Additional missions include emergency power,
  commodities and technical assistance to facilitate a rapid recovery from Hurricane
  Gustav.
   

• Register Twice if Impacted by Gustav and Ike
  BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana residents who have been impacted by both hurricanes
  Gustav and Ike should register twice, once for each disaster.
  Due to heavy call volume, residents may find it difficult to get through. Those who
  have minimal damage are encouraged to wait so that those with more damage can
  register first. Register online if possible at www.fema.gov. It is recommended that
  those who register by phone do so in off hours, which is late at night or early in
  the morning. The phone numbers are 800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 800-462-7585, and
  calls can be taken in any language. Either online or by phone, the system is open 24
  hours a day seven days a week until further notice.
  The incident period for Hurricane Gustav was Sept. 1 through Sept. 11 and a total of
  42 parishes have been included in a presidential major disaster declaration. Only
  damage or losses occurring between those dates may be considered for eligibility for
  federal assistance for that disaster.
  The incident period for Hurricane Ike began on Sept. 11 and there are currently 14
  parishes eligible for federal funding as a result of that storm.
  The new disaster declaration for Hurricane Ike does not affect the previous disaster
  declaration for Hurricane Gustav. Victims of Hurricane Gustav should continue
  registering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to report their
  damage. Those already registered for Gustav who suffered more damage from Ike should
  also register for Ike.
  Aid to individuals and households may come in the form of both FEMA grants and U.S.
  Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to repair or replace damaged property, as
  well as other programs. The aid program will not cover all losses, but is designed
  to help people return to livable housing.
  To date, nearly 360,000 Louisiana residents have registered for assistance due to
  damage from hurricane Gustav and $19,404,923 in assistance has already been
  approved. The number of Louisiana residents registering due to damage from hurricane
  Ike currently stands at 7,460.
  People who register are urged to have pen and paper ready to take down their case
  number. The toll-free call takes about 20 minutes.
  The call goes more quickly if residents have the following:
  •        Social Security number (including spouse’s)
  •        Address and zip code of the damaged property
  •        Directions to the damaged home or property
  •        Telephone numbers where FEMA can reach applicant
  •        Private insurance policy, if any
  •        Bank information to enable direct deposit
  •          Current mailing address
  Many parishes in the state are also eligible for federal assistance in rebuilding
  their infrastructure. Meetings with public officials to explain this program will
  begin this week.
  For the latest information on the recovery from Hurricane Ike, visit
  www.emergency.louisiana.gov. 
  
  FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing,
  mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic
  disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
  SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding
  of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of
  all sizes, and private non-profit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts,
  and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These
  disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate
  benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs,
  applicants may call 800-659-2955 (TTY 800-877-8339).
   

According to Emergency Service Personnel, the Bayou Warehouse Bridge was struck by an out of control barge and has caused severe damage to the bridge.  After the impact, the barge partially sank causing approximately 150 gallons of Diesel fuel to spill from the barge. Louisiana State Police Emergency Services Personnel will continue to work closely with LDWF, DOTD and DEQ to contain the Diesel spill and recover the barge.  The Bayou Warehouse Bridge is expected to be closed down until further notice.

For the latest information on Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, you can visit emergency.louisiana.gov or call the state's emergency hotline at 1-866-288-2484 to listen to a recorded message with the most up-to-date information.