Aerial view of flooding in Avoyelles Parish (photo courtesy of Governor Jeff Landry/Facebook)

The historic rain event on June 18th may be long gone in Avoyelles Parish, but the painstaking task of recovery is just getting underway. Joey Frank, the director of the Avoyelles Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, says many people in the parish lost everything.

“A lot of people have started to gut their homes; see all their precious things they’ve worked all their lives for, just thrown away,” Frank said.

Frank says more than 1,500 households in the parish have reported flood damage. He they’ve placed 120 displaced residents in hotel rooms or in RVs at the Paragon Casino, with the state picking up the tab.

“I’ve had quite a few people come and either assigned a hotel room to them or an RV, and I almost want to cry for them and with them; it’s just so sad,” Frank noted.

Frank says they’re winding down the emergency supply distribution centers.

“All the distribution of items in the Moreauville area pretty much have shut down. We still have one going in Plaucheville, and in Dupont,” Frank explained.

Those with damage are strongly encouraged to document all of it at damage.la.gov, in order to bolster the state’s quest to secure a federal disaster declaration.

LDI to Provide Insurance Assistance in Avoyelles Parish for Tropical Storm Arthur Recovery June 29 – July 2