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Officials give updates on flood damage in EBR

7 years 6 months 2 weeks ago Monday, September 12 2016 Sep 12, 2016 September 12, 2016 6:20 PM September 12, 2016 in News
Source: WBRZ
By: Mark Armstrong

BATON ROUGE – Officials gave updates on the damage to City-Parish property experienced in last month's flood and they say it is staggering.

The Baton Rouge Police Department had 90 of its units flooded and is working with FEMA for those to hopefully be replaced, along with the equipment inside. The Baton Rouge Fire Department had two stations flooded and the Department of Public Works lost 20 vehicles with 11 buildings that went under water.

"We don't have a number yet, we're working with the federal government to come up with that. Hopefully over the next couple of days or week we'll have something for you," William Daniel, East Baton Rouge Chief Administrator, said.

Left behind are the heaps of debris, up to 2.5 million cubic yards just in East Baton Rouge alone, which is enough to fill the LSU Pete Maravich Assembly Center 21 times.

"This is an astounding number, buts it's one we think is the most accurate," an official with the Department of Environmental Services said.

There are still 500 people staying in shelters, however the two in East Baton Rouge are about to close. Those two include the Baton Rouge River Center that is set to close Thursday and one at Baker City Hall that is set to close at the end of the month leaving victims to find a home elsewhere.

"You have Red Cross case workers and the state and FEMA working with those families to find them shelter," Joanne Moreau, of East Baton Rouge Emergency Preparedness, said.

The flood means loss of revenue for the City-Parish, whether that is a down turn in traffic tickets or a slump in property tax collections. However Chief Administrator Daniel says that Baton Rouge has enough money in reserves to handle the loss of funds.

"We are in a position that we can handle this financially," Daniel said.

Parish officials said they will review their flood response so they will be more prepared in the future.

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