Hurricane Laura battered the state of Louisiana and wreaked havoc in the south-central United States. It caused a lot of damage that cost the state a large amount of money. According to the interview of Senator John Kennedy, this has been the worst damage he has ever seen in a hurricane.

A path of damage 50-70 miles wide was recorded, covering from southeast to northeast Louisiana. The hurricane caused cell and power towers to fall, causing phone signal difficulties and power outages. Access to fresh water was also affected. 28 people died primarily due to generator carbon monoxide poisoning, heat-related illness, drowning, and a fallen tree. 

According to Senator Kennedy, many people needed help like food, healthcare, water, power, and assistance repairing homes. This was on top of the COVID-19 pandemic that had a massive effect on the area. 

Many sources of funding were pulled together to help the residents, such as state funding for post-disaster relief, FEMA resources, and federal government assistance.

The state and federal government budgets were already stretched thin because of the COVID-19 crisis. Further exhausting a depleted reserve would cause future impacts on the long-term sustainability of the state. Instead of allocating additional funding to hurricane relief, proper management and distribution of the funds already available should be done to use the money wisely. 

The question in debate is, should more state funding be available to aid in post-disaster relief in Louisiana?