6 parishes added to emergency declaration for La. after Barry

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Governor John Bel Edwards’ request for a federal emergency disaster declaration has now been expanded to include six more parishes, bringing the total up to 41. The parishes added are Allen, Beauregard, Catahoula, Concordia, Evangeline, and Vernon.

President Donald Trump announced Thursday, July 11 that he approved the emergency declaration.

The storm made landfall Saturday, July 13 as a weak Category 1 hurricane.

President Trump has approved an emergency declaration for Louisiana ahead of #Barry. This will put important federal resources in place for disaster relief.
— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) July 12, 2019

The previous 35 parishes included in the disaster declaration is as follows:

"The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Acadia, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Calcasieu, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Ouachita, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding."

An excerpt from the letter Edwards sent to the president relays the gravity of the storm’s potential impacts in the state. Read that excerpt below:

“Over the past 24 hours, 28 parishes have issued parish emergency declarations, 14 parishes are in the process of completing their emergency declarations, and more are anticipated over the next 24 to 48 hours.”

The request additionally ask the federal government to distribute supplementary federal resources as soon as possible should they be needed.

Read the full letter by clicking the link here.

Here’s the letter Louisiana’s congressional delegation sent to President Trump in support of the Governor’s request for assistance. pic.twitter.com/3jCm8eoxpM
— Matt Houston (@MattCHouston) July 12, 2019

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TROPICAL STORM BARRY: Resources for south Louisiana residents

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