BATON ROUGE - Thirteen houses in East Baton Rouge Parish will soon be things of the past after homeowners applied to have the government buy and demolish their flood-prone properties.

"This is a result that they were flooded in 2016," MOHSEP Director, Clay Rives said. "They were severe repetitive loss or repetitive loss, which means multiple times where their house received water."

480 homeowners were eligible for the federal buyout program, but only a fraction accepted the invitation. These homes have flooded at least twice in the past.

"These homes again are in flood zone areas and they continue to flood," Rives said. "The individual property owners or homeowners feel this is a good program for them."

After the houses are torn down, the City-Parish will use the land as part of several planned drainage projects.

"We can use that for greenspace or runoff or retention ponds if the area is large enough," Rives said.

Right now, homeowners would receive 75 percent of their home's fair market value. However, local officials are working with the state to match the remaining 25 percent.