Nearly two years after Hurricane Ida made landfall, Louisiana lawmakers continue to spend millions of dollars to help those still recovering from that storm.
This session, legislators slated $32 million to cover housing costs for storm victims still living in government-owned trailers, after the federal government stopped covering those costs in January. Lawmakers also are proposing $1 million to fix the roof at Terrebonne General Hospital in Houma, which was forced to operate in tents after the storm hit and has lingering problems. And the budget bills also earmark $1 million for the Houma Restoration District to help rebuild historic downtown buildings that Ida destroyed.
The spending illustrates the arduous nature of hurricane recovery, which can drag on for years. Aside from the Ida spending, the budget bills up for approval this session allocate millions of dollars for the historic 2016 flood that hit parts of south Louisiana, as well as Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Gustav, Barry and Ike. The Legislature also appropriated millions of dollars last year for hurricane recovery, including nearly $120 million for the state’s share of emergency response and individual assistance programs for Ida.
More than 1,800 families are still living in government-owned trailers after they were displaced by Ida, said Mike Steele, spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
At that program’s peak, 5,366 families were in temporary housing; hundreds have moved out of the trailers in recent weeks as the state seeks to wind down the program. GOHSEP has vowed that no one would be left homeless on June 1 when the program officially ended, and Steele said the agency is still working to connect people with more permanent housing.
“People are still not back in their homes. That’s where we are,” said Speaker Pro Tem Tanner Magee, R-Houma. “Two years later, we’re not back on our feet. This is one of the most devastating storms in the history of the United States. This is going to take us a while to get back up.”
The spending is outlined in the Legislature’s supplemental appropriations bill, which is part of ongoing negotiations between the House, Senate and Gov. John Bel Edwards. Lawmakers are expected to vote in the coming days on the budget bills; the 60-day legislative session must end by Thursday evening.
Steele said the funds for storms from earlier years are largely to pay the state’s portion of costs that weren’t covered by the federal government; he said Louisiana often doesn’t get invoices for years after an event.
The federal government has also been spending tens of millions of dollars on Ida relief this year. In late March, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, announced the Federal Emergency Management Agency was sending another $30 million for Hurricanes Ida, Laura and Katrina. That included $11.6 million for the Terrebonne Parish School Board, $5 million for St. John the Baptist Parish for debris removal and $1.8 million for Grand Isle.
Magee said the money for Terrebonne General will help get the hospital back to 100%, as it has been operating without a wing since the storm ripped off its roof. The hospital also recently got $5.1 million in FEMA money. He said the $1 million for the restoration district will help rebuild three historic buildings lost to the storm.
Appropriations Chairman Jerome Zeringue, R-Houma, said the Ida appropriation is similar to what the Legislature did after Hurricane Laura devastated southwest Louisiana. He said some of the money in the budget this year includes unspent funds from past years.