Environment
Housing among biggest concerns for Terrebonne communities recovering from Hurricane Ida
Out in Chauvin, Melissa and Kimothy Guy wade through muddy water to get to their water-damaged home. It’s been 23 days since Hurricane Ida hit, and they’ve been driving in from Thibodaux every morning to work on fixing their trawl boat, hoping to make it livable–it’s an easier project than their house, which had the […]
Louisiana colleges, universities disrupted by Hurricane Ida back to teaching
Colleges and universities disrupted by Hurricane Ida are now operational — in-person or remotely. About 135,900 students — or 55 percent of Louisiana’s public university student population — were impacted directly by the storm, Board of Regents Chair Blake R. David said Wednesday at a regularly scheduled Board meeting. College campus buildings also “fared remarkably […]
U.S. House Dems propose $28.6B in disaster aid for recovery from hurricanes, wildfires, floods
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats unveiled a short-term spending measure on Tuesday that would keep the federal government operating through Dec. 3 and provide $28.6 billion for costs related to recent natural disasters. The bill was passed by the House on a party-line vote Tuesday night, 220-211. But it faces a battle in the evenly divided […]
Louisiana residents are sleeping in tents because of damaged housing, lawmaker says
Lafourche and Terrebonne parish residents displaced by Hurricane Ida have been sleeping in tents and “using the rubble to build their own sort of makeshift structure” since the storm made landfall last month, said Speaker Pro Tempore Tanner Magee during a legislative hearing Monday. “And when I say tent, I’m not talking about like some […]
Louisiana governor replaces members of the Baton Rouge area groundwater commission
Gov. John Bel Edwards appointed two new members to the 18-person board that regulates groundwater use in the Baton Rouge region, less than three months after rejecting legislation that would have allowed employees from companies who use the groundwater to continue to sit on the commission without penalty. Alvin Broussard, the public works director and […]
Louisiana has ‘tremendous unmet housing needs’ following Hurricane Ida, governor says
Louisiana still needs billions of dollars to house displaced residents after Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Ida — the two worst hurricanes in the state’s recorded history – decimated South Louisiana nearly a calendar year apart, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Friday after a meeting with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Southwest Louisiana […]
Tropical Storm Nicholas expected to dump rain on areas recovering from Hurricane Ida
South Louisiana is already experiencing outages and flooding due to Tropical Storm Nicholas, Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon, but the heaviest rainfall from Nicholas is yet to come. And it is expected “in areas most devastated by Hurricane Ida down in Southeast Louisiana.” “That’s particularly challenging because many individuals […]
Four big climate items in the reconciliation bill in Congress
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee late Thursday approved its first piece of Democrats’ sweeping $3.5 trillion spending blueprint on a party-line 24-13 vote. Among the highest priorities for President Joe Biden in the plan was addressing climate change, and the panel included initiatives ranging from oil and gas reform to offshore wind ventures. The […]
Louisiana deals with Tropical Storm Nicholas, while still recovering from Hurricane Ida
Ahead of Tropical Storm Nicholas, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced precautions are in place, including stationing the National Guard with 80 high water vehicles and 23 boats. The storm is expected to hit the Texas coast directly, but could dump life-threatening rain across southwestern Louisiana. Currently, flash flooding seems to be the biggest danger the […]
How does Louisiana count hurricane deaths?
Louisiana has recorded 26 “storm-related” deaths due to Hurricane Ida. But what counts as a hurricane death? And when will the counting stop? There is no checklist or clear set of rules for determining whether a death is classified as storm-related. Local parish coroners determine whether a death can be attributed to a weather event […]
COVID-19 cases in Louisiana decline following Delta variant surge, official says
Louisiana appears to have peaked in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and is now on a downward trajectory, the state’s chief medical officer said Thursday. But Dr. Joe Kanter warned at a press conference that the decrease could be short lived. He said “there’s no guarantee we continue this downward trajectory” because thousands remain displaced after […]
Houma residents scramble to find housing after apartment complexes deemed ‘uninhabitable’
Rayne Pierre and her 21-year-old daughter had just renewed their lease at Cameron Isles Apartments in Houma — where they’d been living since 2016 — when Hurricane Ida struck two weeks ago. They evacuated to Lafayette when the storm hit, but before they could come home, Pierre got an email from her apartment complex that […]