President Biden Approves Emergency Declaration For Louisiana

Governor John Bel Edwards' request for a Federal Emergency Declaration because of severe winter weather has been granted according to a press release from the Governor's Office.

Governor Edwards says the help is desperately needed especially to help address the many power and water issues across the entire state.

The request was granted and will include help in the form of commodities. The United Way of Acadiana has been responding to the crisis, and this weekend, they are providing free food for anyone who needs it. Click here for information. It's a contact-free event. You don't even have to get out of your car.

Governor Edwards had this to say about the approval of the declaration,

I'm thankful to the Biden administration for a swift response to my request as our state continues to deal with the bitterly cold temperatures as well as power and water outages that are causing extreme challenges for so many of our citizens and have already claimed lives. While the second storm has passed through our state, unfortunately, some areas are still facing freeze warnings and we will not begin to truly thaw out until the latter part of the weekend. That is why this assistance from our federal partners is critical.

So many communities across the state have been asked to continue to conserve on both energy and water. The Bayou Teche Water System, for example, had to shut down for a time so that the water supply could catch up with the demand. There are other communities that are facing the same issues. State officials are reminding people not to let your water drip as it is depleting our resources.

At the height of the situation this week, Edwards' Administration reports that 200,000 people were without electricity. As of this morning, there are still 50,000 customers without electricity.