Flood Relief Resource Summary

In light of the recent flooding in Baton Rouge and the surrounding parishes, we want to help our community.  One way is to help affected individuals and their families find and access needed resources as quickly as possible.  In doing some research, we found a lot of websites which in total can be overwhelming.  We hope the following list of local, state, and federal websites can assist you in finding the resources and people who can help you recover and rebuild.

The first site (click here) is one that provides a good high level outline of available resources and is a good first step towards understanding the various types of programs.

Next is a list of websites that provide a breadth of resources including how to apply for help.

WAFB (click here) – A Baton Rouge television station

(Access Monetary Resources, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, and information on Small Business Administration Recovery Centers, help for farmers and ranchers through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and FEMA.  There are also sections on How To Get Assistance With Applications, Emergency Supplies, Transportation, Volunteer Organizations, Medical, Animals, and Additional Resources.

https://www.disasterassistance.gov/  (On December 31, 2008, DAIP launched a website called DisasterAssistance.gov.) The site allows you to:

• Find disaster assistance that meets your personal needs.

• Learn about more than 70 forms of assistance from 17 federal agencies.

• Apply for disaster assistance and reduce the number of forms you have to fill out.

• Check the status of your application.

• Find a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) near you.

• Find a hotel or a new place to live.

• Find programs to help with food and nutrition needs.  Here is an additional link.

• Change the address for your Social Security, VA, or other federal benefits.

• Learn about Small Business Administration (SBA) loans for homeowners, renters, and businesses.

Louisiana Resources for Flood Victims

Flood Safety Guide by Basement Guides.

Special Tax Law Provisions may help taxpayers and businesses recover.  For example, affected taxpayers in a federally declared disaster area have the option of claiming disaster-related casualty losses on their federal income tax return for either the year in which the event occurred, or the prior year. See Publication 547 for details.

IRS to grant access to retirement accounts for flood relief as noted in past from WBRZ.

Link to Keogh Cox article on points to keep in mind when filing a flood insurance claim