BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Gov. Jeff Landry is asking President Donald Trump to issue a major disaster declaration for Louisiana after Tropical Storm Arthur brought historic rainfall, flooding, and tornadoes to parts of the state.
In a letter dated June 27, Landry requested Individual Assistance for six parishes: Avoyelles, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, St. Tammany, and Terrebonne.
Landry said Tropical Storm Arthur brought significant rainfall to Louisiana on June 17 and June 18, displacing hundreds of survivors and threatening lives and property. According to the request, Avoyelles Parish experienced what has been described as a “thousand-year event” when about 29 inches of rain fell in a 12-hour span.
The governor’s office said the National Weather Service confirmed 14 tornadoes touched down in Louisiana as a result of the storm.
“All of the parishes in this request experienced flooding and damage to residential structures,” the letter states.
The request says Avoyelles Parish exceeded Louisiana’s 24-hour rainfall record in a 12-hour period. Several other parishes also saw extreme rainfall, while St. Tammany and Terrebonne had confirmed tornadoes. Officials said flooding caused local rivers and bodies of water to rise quickly, forcing many households to evacuate.
Landry said state and local governments began conducting preliminary damage assessments on June 19. The Louisiana Watershed Initiative also used precipitation data mapped by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to estimate structural damage in Avoyelles, Pointe Coupee, and St. Landry parishes.
Those projections include hundreds of damaged residential and commercial structures, with estimated costs in the tens of millions of dollars. In St. Landry Parish alone, the state projected 190 damaged residential structures with an estimated cost of more than $45 million.
The governor said many of the damaged homes were not in flood zones and were not required to carry flood insurance. The letter says only 41 National Flood Insurance Program claims had been filed in Avoyelles Parish.
State agencies, including the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana State Police, and the Louisiana National Guard, assisted with evacuations. The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is also providing travel trailers and hotel rooms for 150 displaced households in Avoyelles Parish, according to the request.
Landry said the state can only provide temporary sheltering resources and that federal assistance is needed to help survivors return home.
The governor asked for an expedited declaration, saying the storm’s impacts are beyond the capabilities of state and local governments.
Click here to report a typo. Please include the headline.
Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Watch the latest WAFB news and weather now.