WASHINGTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today an extension to the grace period for expiring flood insurance policies, the latest in a series of actions to support the state in its ongoing response and recovery efforts in Louisiana.National Flood Insurance Program policies typically have a 30-day grace period for renewal to avoid a lapse in coverage. Due to the record flooding, the period to renew policies is extended to 120 days. Today’s action extends the grace period to policies ending Aug. 11 through Sept. 10 and applies to...

BATON ROUGE, La. – Disaster recovery centers will open Tuesday, August 23, in Gonzales in Ascension Parish and in Baton Rouge and Zachary in East Baton Rouge Parish to help Louisiana flood survivors. The centers are open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday until further notice.Disaster recovery centers are located at the following addresses:2nd Baptist Church 914 N. Acadian ThruwayWest Baton Rouge, La. 70802Zachary Men’s Club 5746 Rollins RoadZachary, La. 70791 Survivors may locate other centers near them at fema.gov/disaster-recovery-centers or by calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362. Survivors may...

WASHINGTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that due to the damage and displacement caused by recent flooding, the grace period to renew flood insurance policies has been extended to 120 days, for certain parishes in Louisiana.“We’ve seen major destruction to communities across the state; thousands of Louisianans have been displaced,” said Roy Wright, deputy associate administrator for FEMA’s Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration.  “This extension will give policyholders one less thing to worry about, at a time when they are trying to focus on getting back into...

WASHINGTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), federal partners’ and the state of Louisiana continue to work together to support relief efforts in Louisiana, to include opening Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) today.FEMA and the State of Louisiana opened two DRCs today, and will continue to open additional centers in locations identified by the state to provide information to survivors. Three additional centers are scheduled to open on Monday. These centers bring together federal, state, and local representatives to share information and answer questions of disaster survivors. Survivors can apply for...

BATON ROUGE, La. – Disaster recovery centers will open Sunday, August 21, in Tangipahoa and St. Helena parishes to help Louisiana flood survivors. The centers are open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day until further notice.The centers are at the following addresses:Former Parish Tourism Building42271 S. Morrison Blvd.Hammond, La. 70443 St. Helena Environmental Health Unit53 N. 2nd St.Greensburg, La. 70441 Survivors may locate centers near them at fema.gov/disaster-recovery-centers or by calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362. That information is also available on the FEMA mobile app. Survivors may register at any open...

Unprecedented. Historic. Epic. Three words that have been used to describe this month's flooding in Louisiana. Last Friday, as the rains came down and over 31 inches of water fell in some areas, we knew it was a big deal. A week later, this remains a very significant disaster. Our Administrator traveled down on Tuesday. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security traveled down on Thursday. Next Tuesday, the President will travel. With disasters like these, the federal family wraps its arms around affected communities. Large and small. The...

With more than half its 254 counties eligible to receive assistance under six federal disaster declarations in the past year, Texas remains in recovery from severe storms and flooding.   Recovery help has come from many sources, including three AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team (A-DRT) programs: Texas Conservation Corps, Southwest Conservation Corps and Hoopa Tribal Civilian Community Corps. Teams from the programs stepped up to the plate this summer in Brazoria County, about 40 miles southwest of Houston. They mucked out more than 40 homes and cleared nearly 1,500 cubic yards...

Designated Parishes: Acadia Parish, Ascension Parish, Avoyelles Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish, East Feliciana Parish, Evangeline Parish, Iberia Parish, Iberville Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Livingston Parish, Pointe Coupee Parish, St. Helena Parish, St. Landry Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Vermilion Parish, Washington Parish and West Feliciana Parish.Apply for assistance:Online at disasterassistance.govCall 800-621-3362 (711 or Video Relay Service). If you use TTY, call 800-462-7585.Visit a Disaster Recovery Center.Stay in Touch After you apply, we may need to contact you to schedule an inspection or to get...

According to its website, the Angeles National Forest offers "natural environments, spectacular scenery, developed campgrounds and picnic areas, swimming, fishing, skiing, and the solitude of quiet wilderness areas." Not cited on that webpage, it also provides a scenic background for one of the most hustling and bustling cities in the country: Los Angeles, California. This weekend, this serene, picturesque forest became home to an incredibly active, dangerous blaze known as the Sand Fire. (For reference, fire names are often determined by their proximity to certain landmarks; this one is in...