Louisiana was one of the hard-hit states by Hurricane Delta, the 10th named storm to strike in the US in 2020, breaking a 104-year-old record of nine in 1916. Delta was the fourth storm to hit Louisiana in 2020 after Tropical Storm Cristobal, Tropical Storm Marco, and Hurricane Laura.
It landed on October 9th, 2020, as a Category 2 storm. After already surviving four storms, people started their post-disaster routine again. They had to walk through knee-deep water through their flooded homes with destroyed floors and roofs and try to rebuild what was left without electricity. When power returned to many neighborhoods, more than 110,000 people were without power after Delta ravaged their homes.
While Delta was weaker than the category four hurricane Laura, the former had a broader wind field and brought more flooding. Lake Charles, a city with a population of 78,000, was still recovering from Laura’s destruction when they had to deal with another bout of devastating winds, rain, and flooding. More residents had to evacuate from their homes.
The damage caused by two major storms in six weeks proved too much for Louisianians. However, Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter thought the state was not getting as much attention from the federal government as it should be. He said: “To have us go through what we are going through right now, and being treated differently than (hurricane) Michael was in 2018, to me it’s going to be a slap in the face.”
Should more state funding be available to aid in post-disaster relief? Definitely! The devastation that Louisiana and neighboring states experienced was dreadful. However, the federal government was too slow to react, and people struggled.
Federal assistance was approved in August after Marco and Laura. According to the press release, FEMA was authorized to “identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment, and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures Category B, limited to direct federal assistance under the Public Assistance program and reimbursement for mass care including evacuation and shelter support, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding.”
Instead of reimbursements for municipal costs after hurricanes, typhoons, and other disasters, there should be available funding that people can immediately use to lessen their burdens quickly. According to the research organization Pew Charitable Trust, there are three primary federal grant programs for disaster mitigation: (1) The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), to reduce death and property damage from future natural disasters, giving states 7.5 to 15 percent of the total disaster aid ; (2) The Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program, to minimize overall risk to individuals and properties from future disasters; and the (3) Flood Mitigating Assisting Program to provide grants to develop plans to address flood risks.
The federal government should learn to emphasize with Louisiana. Imagine having to endure four storms in a year, with two devastatingly potent within a six-week interval while in the middle of a pandemic. Residents need to be in the safe confines of their homes before another storm comes; therefore, additional relief funding from the government is necessary.
