BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gov. Bobby Jindal on Tuesday asked President Barack Obama to declare a major disaster in Louisiana because of October and November storms, tornadoes and flooding.
Jindal’s office released the letter sent to the White House with the request.
In the letter, the governor said the storms from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3 caused damage to roads, bridges, buildings, homes and government structures and destroyed crops. He said the storms, in north and west Louisiana, dropped up to six inches of rain in some areas and spawned 12 tornadoes.
Jindal asked for a presidential disaster declaration to allow public assistance — like debris removal — from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 11 parishes: Beauregard, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, DeSoto, Jefferson Davis, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Union and Webster parishes.
He also asked for housing, unemployment, crisis counseling and business assistance for Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Union and Webster parishes.
Some of the programs require the state to pay a portion of the aid costs.
 
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