Three Months Since Ida, Over $2.5 Billion in Federal Assistance for Louisianans

BATON ROUGE, La. – It’s been three months since Hurricane Ida made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana as the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever strike the U.S. As Louisianans rebuild, over $2.5 billion in federal grants, loans and flood insurance payments support their ongoing recovery.

Major Accomplishments

Over $2.5 billion in federal assistance has been provided to survivors to date, including

• $1.1 billion in low-interest Small Business Administration loans for families and businesses.
• $580 million in housing assistance for homeowners and renters.
• $441 million for other needs assistance, including medical bills, vehicle replacement, and cleaning.
• $513 million in National Flood Insurance Program claims.
• $2.7 million for Disaster Unemployment Insurance claims.

• 25 Disaster Recovery Centers established across Louisiana, 8 of which are still open, operating, and available to assist survivors.
  • Over 552,000 Louisianans have been approved for individual assistance, while FEMA staff have knocked on 186,000 doors in disaster-affected parishes.
• At the peak, 22,183 survivors were temporarily sheltered in hotels and other transitional lodging.
• FEMA Mitigation Specialists have offered free rebuilding and repair advice to over 14,608 survivors.
• 152,142 survivors received expedited rental assistance for utility outages, inaccessible or damaged dwellings.
  • 96,941 were lower income applicants who would have otherwise received delayed assistance or no assistance at all.
• $27.8 million in public assistance grants currently obligated for local governments and nonprofits.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Blue Roof Mission 

• 33,625 “Blue Roofs” installed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, allowing survivors to live safely in their damaged residences while making permanent repairs.
  • USACE, in cooperation with the FEMA and the state of Louisiana, launched a pilot program to explore temporary roofing options for homes that were otherwise ineligible for Blue Roofs.
    • The program, called Roof Wrap, focused on using shrink wrap materials that are installed under the roof via furring strips, then heated to shrink the material and create a water-tight seal.