President Obama Signs Louisiana Disaster Declaration

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms and flooding during the period of January 8-17, 2013.

Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms and flooding in the parishes of Acadia, Catahoula, Concordia, East Carroll, Evangeline, Franklin, Jefferson Davis, Livingston, Madison, St. Landry, and Vermilion.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide. 

W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Gerard M. Stolar as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. 

FEMA said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT:  FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@DHS.GOV

President Obama urges Congress to stop the sequester -- the harmful automatic cuts that threaten thousands of jobs and affect our national security from taking effect on March 1.

Have questions about what the sequester is, and why American famillies and our national economy face the threat of harmful budget cuts? Check out this explainer for some background.

In an effort to encourage transparency and participation in government, we invite you to take part in developing our Open Government self-assessment report.

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