BATON ROUGE – More than a month after being closed for historic flooding, River Road near the Baton Rouge River Center reopened to the public Thursday afternoon.

The shelter at the River Center will close at the end of the day on Thursday. Residents without a place to move will be moved to Celtic Studios. A shelter in Baker will be open until Sept. 30, if needed.

According to Red Cross officials, the number of people staying in shelters has steadily declined as residents have moved into more suitable housing solutions. Some of the residents staying in shelters who can't return home due to flooding damage are being helped through federal disaster housing programs; others are being helped through state and community programs.

The Red Cross urges people to apply to FEMA first for assistance.

Red Cross workers have been meeting with shelter residents to help determine their needs and the next step for their individual recovery. The Red Cross also is providing limited financial assistance to people who qualify.

The Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Ascension Parish, along with the Killian, Lockhart, and The Way shelters in Livingston Parish will close at the end of the day on Friday.