BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana’s request to broaden the federal aid available for areas damaged by February tornadoes has been denied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
People who live in Livingston and Orleans parishes were approved for individual assistance from FEMA in mid-February.
Gov. John Bel Edwards sought to expand that, to allow people who live in Ascension, St. James and St. Tammany parishes to apply for federal disaster aid. He also asked for public assistance across seven parishes, to help local government agencies with the costs of recovery.
FEMA denied those requests, according to a letter to the governor’s office released Wednesday. The federal agency said preliminary damage assessments determined the damage wasn’t of the “severity and magnitude” to get the assistance sought.
The governor’s office said it will appeal FEMA’s rejection.
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