We’ve been fielding your questions about navigating federal assistance after Hurricane Ida. A longtime FEMA employee has some answers.
Category: Gulf Coast
‘Do I even qualify?’: Deadline looms for $500 FEMA aid following Ida
The deadline for Louisiana residents impacted by Hurricane Ida to apply for Critical Needs Assistance from FEMA is Wednesday, September 22. But applicants’ experiences have varied widely, leaving many to wonder what makes someone eligible for the aid.
‘Infrastructure apartheid’: Africatown’s fight against toxins, new toll bridge
The historic Alabama town is already surrounded by polluting industries. An impact study says traffic avoiding a proposed toll bridge would only make the air more toxic.
‘Life-threatening situation’: FEMA says power outages—not just storm damage—may qualify Louisiana residents for evacuation aid
Earlier this week, the agency said that only people with damaged homes would qualify.
A year after Hurricane Laura, southwest Louisiana ‘still in limbo’
As extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, multiple disasters in southwest Louisiana during the pandemic show how unequipped disaster aid systems are during compounding events.
Offshore oil and gas worker fatalities are underreported by federal safety agency
Nearly half of known Gulf of Mexico worker fatalities didn’t fit the agency’s reporting criteria.
Toxic floodwaters threatened a Florida jail. Nearly 800 were locked inside.
Many rural jails and prisons face environmental pollution and flooding, but they aren’t often considered in emergency planning.