President Biden approves Louisiana’s federal emergency declaration for Tropical Storm Nicholas

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - President Joe Biden has approved Louisiana’s request for a federal emergency declaration for Tropical Storm Nicholas, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Tuesday, Sept. 14.

Gov. Edwards declared a state of emergency on Sunday, Sept. 12 ahead of Nicholas, allowing the State of Louisiana to begin its preparations and to assist local governments.

President Biden’s approval authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts for all 64 Louisiana parishes.

The approval also allows Louisiana to mobilize federal resources the state already has in place as well as to request additional resources if needed, the governor says.

“I want to thank the President and Louisiana’s federal counterparts at FEMA for their strong partnership as we work to respond to the threat of Tropical Storm Nicholas while also recovering from Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Ida. It’s vital that we have as many resources as possible to respond to the forecasted heavy rainfall, potential for flash flooding and river flooding across central Louisiana and all of South Louisiana. The President’s federal emergency declaration will help us achieve that, as we will be able to move federal personnel and assets to where they are needed. Louisiana has been tested time and time again, but our strong partnerships at the federal, state and local level are key to our communities standing back up and recovering. I am constantly motivated by the strength of Louisianans as we continue to weather these storms,” Gov. Edwards said.

Gov. Edwards says Louisiana residents are continuing to recover from Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Delta and Hurricane Ida and heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Nicholas could complicate those recovery efforts.

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