The adverbs to describe the massive destruction left behind by Hurricane Ida are almost endless, Senator John Kennedy who visited Houma and Thibodaux on Tuesday called the damage “breathtaking”, coupled with a lot of “misery”. He says people lost their homes and their cars, but notes that FEMA’s on the ground and the agency is much better than in 2005 after Katrina.
He says he’s thankful we didn’t see a greater loss of life as with Katrina and less damage and death in New Orleans because the levees held.
Senator Kennedy says that as storm victims deal with short-term problems such as power outages and no internet, housing will be a long-term setback for many.
“We’ve got people who’ve lost everything and some of them have the insurance but don’t have the deductible,” said Kennedy
Kennedy says there are some that don’t have any insurance “and people have to have a place to live.” He says the state’s congressional delegation is together with Governor Edwards on doing a stand-alone bill to provide supplemental disaster housing relief for south Louisiana and those in the northeast U.S, hit hard by Ida.
After meeting Tuesday with Ida storm victims in Houma and Thibodaux and helping deliver supplies to them he appeared ready to admonish President Biden if he didn’t deliver on his promise to do all he can to help victims of Ida.
“I take him at his word, and if the White House tries to double back on his word, I’m going to chase him like a hound from hell until we get what we need,” said Kennedy
In the meantime, Kennedy is urging people to access the federal government’s Blue Roof program to get their storm-damaged roofs covered with tarps before future rains cause more problems.
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