BATON ROUGE, La. — More than $9 million in recent federal funding will assist Louisiana public services and schools recover from the August 2016 floods.
The funding reimburses them for disaster-related costs. Below are some examples:
• The City of Baton Rouge has been approved for $2.9 million to replace 92 police vehicles. The amount includes extra equipment in the vehicles.
• The City of Denham Springs has been approved for $1.5 million to help repair gas utility equipment.
So far, about $90 million has been approved for education. The recent funding includes two schools:
• Glen Oaks High School in Baton Rouge has been approved for $1.7 million for the cleaning of flood damage.
• Runnels School—an independent K-12 school in Baton Rouge—has been approved for $1.2 million. The funding reimburses them for damaged equipment and repairs to classrooms, the auditorium, gym and other facilities. This amount is in addition to $1.1 million the school received in May.
To date, FEMA has obligated approximately $413 million to reimburse local and state government entities as well as certain private nonprofits for eligible expenses. Funds cover repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities and infrastructure, debris removal and emergency response activities in designated parishes.
The state and FEMA continue working with more than 280 applicants in 26 parishes to develop specifications and costs for eligible recovery projects.
FEMA typically reimburses 75 percent of eligible expenses. However, the agency will reimburse applicants 90 percent of eligible expenses given the magnitude of the August 2016 floods.
