After Hurricane Laura, Residents In Parishes Not Approved For FEMA Aid Feel ‘Completely On Their Own’

From the Louisiana Illuminator:

By JC Canicosa
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September 2, 2020

Ever since Hurricane Laura caused a tree to fall through her roof last week, Shykila Miles has been living in what’s left of her home. She’s had to shower and use the bathroom outside, surrender her pets to the city pound and send her six children to live with extended family.

“They say ‘Alexandria is not in the terribly-hit zone,’ but I lost everything,” Miles said. “I’m homeless. I’m sleeping on my front porch. It’s ridiculous.”

Miles did not have homeowners insurance because she said she couldn’t afford it. After 27 years there, she plans on saying goodbye to her home by Friday and leaving the state for good by the end of the month “and never coming back,” she said.

“I hate to say it, but Louisiana is a horrible state,” Miles said. “From our government to our representatives to our mayors, everything is horrible.”

Because Miles lives in Rapides parish, she is not currently eligible for disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Hurricane Laura struck the Louisiana coast in Cameron Parish as a Category 4 storm on Aug. 27. Gov. John Bel Edwards called it the strongest storm to hit the state in recorded history.

Despite the widespread damage from the Gulf Coast to Arkansas and from the Texas line to Central Louisiana, as it stands now, only residents in nine parishes — Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis, Ouachita, Vermilion and Vernon — can apply for disaster assistance from FEMA. People in 14 other parishes, including Rapides where Miles lives, are hoping the federal government makes them eligible to apply.

When the storm passed to the west of Alexandria, a wind gust in the city was recorded at 86 mph. Almost all — 93 percent — of Rapides Parish residents lost power.

“We knew this storm had the potential to cause a lot of damage, and it certainly did that,” Alexandria Mayor Jeffrey W. Hall said in a press release the day of the storm. “While we had some brief issues with high water from the rapid heavy rains, as we expected, the wind was the most serious issue. Not only did our electrical distribution take a devastating hit from downed trees and utility poles, but the transmission lines coming into the city were damaged as well.”

Residents who qualify for disaster assistance from FEMA will be eligible for grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster, according to FEMA’s website.

“We’re hopeful that FEMA will see what we saw,” Edwards said at a press conference when asked by a reporter about the frustration of residents who have damage but live outside the nine designated areas getting federal aid. “And that is that the damage (to other parishes) is extensive enough, concentrated enough that the populations are vulnerable enough… that they would be approved. We’re going to continue to advocate on their behalf.”

Edwards said in the meantime, the state and nonprofits are delivering supplies such as food, water and tarps to parishes that do not qualify for FEMA disaster assistance, as well as providing generators to critical facilities.

“We’re working as hard as we can as a state,” Edwards said.

Peter Robbins-Brown, communication director for the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, said that despite the governor’s promise of support, some Louisianians feel abandoned by their state.

“People are saying they feel like they’re completely on their own,” Robbins-Brown said. “No real coordinated support, not sure where to turn or who to turn to.”

In Shreveport, the home Rayvin Miller rents also sustained structural damage from Hurricane Laura, but like Miles in Alexandria, she’s still living there.

“I don’t even know if we’re even supposed to still be in here because there’s a lot of water damage,” Miller said. “I don’t know if it’s going to turn into mold or anything, but we got nowhere else to go.”

Caddo Parish, where Miles lives with her mother, sister and two nieces, not only is not among the nine parishes that have been approved for FEMA assistance, but it’s not even one of the 14 other parishes that the governor said he’s advocating for. Caddo was not included in the Gov. Edwards’ request for FEMA disaster relief. Miles said her family still has power, but they are the only ones in her neighborhood who do.

Hurricane Laura’s winds were clocked at 66 mph at Shreveport Regional Airport and downtown. The parish also had toppled trees and downed power lines.

“We don’t know what to do,” Miller said. “We weren’t expecting a tree to fall into our house and there’s nowhere else we can go.”

The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization driven by its mission to cast light on how decisions are made in Baton Rouge and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians, particularly those who are poor or otherwise marginalized.