BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – In the wake of historic flooding throughout the southeastern Louisiana, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is now being criticized for moving too slow in aiding victims with temporary housing.
Rep. John Mica (R-FL) visited the region with Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), who represents most of the flooded area in the state, and found that FEMA was doing a “pitiful” job, according to NBC News.
“This is one of the biggest displacements of people I’ve ever seen in the country, and the response is pitiful from the federal level,” Rep. Mica said.
Rep. Mica slammed FEMA, saying the agency was moving far too slowly to help tens of thousands of displaced residents who need immediate housing aid. In particular, Mica said the temporary mobile homes, commonly referred to as ‘FEMA trailers,’ have been slow to arrive for residents in need.
With more than 100,000 damaged and about 60,000 destroyed from the unprecedented flooding in the state, FEMA has only set up one “manufactured housing unit” thus far.
A spokesman with FEMA said the agency was working to get residents back into their homes as quickly as possible, noting there are 50 to 60 more FEMA trailers ready to be set up, though they have yet to be, according to NBC.
Two weeks have passed since the disastrous flooding and yet some 1,400 people remain in shelters across Louisiana.
A large number of residents did not carry flood insurance–as their area had never flooded in the past–and therefore their assistance is limited to FEMA, donations and personal savings.
John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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