Louisiana to get $595M federal disaster aid for Laura, Delta

By MELINDA DESLATTE
Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana will receive $595 million in federal disaster block grant aid to help with housing restoration and other recovery needs from last year’s back-to-back blows of Hurricanes Laura and Delta. U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy announced the official amount Tuesday. The money is welcomed by officials as critical to rebuilding efforts in southwest Louisiana. But it falls far short of the $3 billion in assistance requested by Gov. John Bel Edwards. It also comes 14 months after Laura wrecked the Lake Charles region. The delay had locals questioning whether the nation had forgotten them.