BATON ROUGE – Today, Governor Bobby Jindal held a press conference to give an update on the state’s recovery efforts following Hurricane Gustav, and give an update on the track of Hurricane Ike.

Governor Jindal said that the latest tracking information he had on Hurricane Ike showed that the storm was taking a path mostly into the Texas coast, but that he was continuing to monitor the storm as it moved across Cuba. The Governor reminded residents that it is never too early for them to be prepared for the next hurricane and encouraged them to visit www.GetAGameplan.org to get a list of supplies needed to prepare for a possible storm.

Governor Jindal also said that due to Hurricane Ike’s current predicted track, the state is continuing to monitor the storm and work with local officials in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes, which could be affected. 

Jindal said that the state has already released 300 buses on contract to Texas to aid in their preparation measures for the possible impact of Hurricane Ike. Additionally, he said the Louisiana National Guard is working to send communications assets down to Southwest Louisiana, in order to preposition them in case Hurricane Ike has an impact on the area.

The Governor said that some POD (point of distribution) locations in the state are experiencing a shortage of tarps. He said that the supply of tarps from FEMA has been slower than what they originally told the state to expect. Currently, there are more than 37,000 tarps at PODs, and Governor Jindal said that FEMA has told the state that more will come to Louisiana today. Additionally, PODs currently have 1.4 million meals, 2.1 million liters of water, and 2.5 million pounds of ice. Governor Jindal said again that the state is working to supplement meal supplies when FEMA does not deliver supplies along their expected timelines.

The Governor also reported that the FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers’ Blue Tarp program is now running in 16 parishes, including the recent additions of West Feliciana, East Feliciana and Point Coupee Parishes. There are now also 14 right of entry centers set up in the state to accept applicants. More than 1,400 applications were processed through the federal program yesterday.

FEDERAL UPDATE:

(Additional details on this information is available through FEMA)

·        FEMA Registrations and Assistance Provided So Far:

o       296,784 Registrations  

o       Dollars approved: Over $4 million

o       FEMA housing Inspectors in field: 1,503

·        Seven Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) are open and to date have received a total of 373 visits.

o       Houma, (Terrebonne Parish)

o       Plattenville, (Assumption Parish)

o       Denham Springs, (Livingston Parish)

o       New Roads, (Point Coupee)

o       Port Allen, (West Baton Rouge)

o       Donaldsonville, (Ascension)

o       Clinton, (East Feliciana)

·        Additional Disaster Recovery Center locations will be announced in the coming days.

·        Homeowners, renters and business owners affected by Hurricane Gustav are encouraged to register for assistance by calling the toll-free registration line at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) (TTY 1-800-462-7585) which is open 24 hours a day seven days a week. Applicants also may register on-line at www.fema.gov.

(Source: Jindal Press Release)