Disaster relief applications are open to residents affected by Francine

Applications for FEMA disaster assistance are open to Louisiana residents affected by Hurricane Francine. Residents in need are encouraged to apply online or call FEMA to determine eligibility for financial assistance.

“FEMA may be able to assist with emergency needs, displacement, temporary housing, basic home repair costs, loss of personal property, or other disaster-related needs,” FEMA officials said in a news release.

Financial assistance is available to eligible homeowners and renters in St. Charles Parish and St. James and St. John the
Baptist, Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes.

Hurricane Francine made landfall on Sept. 11 as a Category 2 hurricane and inundated St. Charles Parish with about 10 inches of water, flooding nearly 300 homes, according to parish officials.

Water backed up quickly during Hurricane Francine because large amounts of rain fell after a rainy weekend when the ground was already saturated, said Francesca Holt Blanchard, interim public information officer for St. Charles Parish, noting that the parish’s pumps Can handle an inch of rain The first hour of rain and half an inch of rain every hour thereafter.

The storm lingered over the area longer than expected and many residents paid the price for the storm damage.

Residents of St. Charles Parish on the east bank were numerically most affected by the storm – of the estimated 287 homes in St. Charles Parish affected by flooding, about two-thirds are on the east bank.

Homeowners and renters can apply for assistance in several ways:
• Go online to disasterassistance.gov.
• Download the FEMA mobile app.
• Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service such as Video Relay (VRS), Closed Captioning Phone, or other service, provide FEMA with your number for that service.
• To view an accessible video on how to apply, visit: Three Ways to Register for FEMA Disaster Assistance – YouTube.

To apply you need:
• A current telephone number where you can be contacted
• Your address at the time of the disaster and the address where you are now
• Your social security number
• A general list of damages and losses
• Banking information if you choose direct deposit
• If insured, the insurance number of the agent and/or the company name.
FEMA advises that applying through disasterassistance.gov is the fastest way to apply.