(Louisiana Illuminator) - Like his counterparts in Tennessee and Mississippi, Gov. Jeff Landry is seeking more federal funding for recovery from the winter storm that shut down north Louisiana at the end of January.
Landry asked President Donald Trump to grant a major disaster declaration, which should allow the state and local governments to receive more federal dollars for cleanup from the deep freeze.
The governor wants the federal government to cover all costs for snow assistance and debris removal for 30 days. Landry is specifically asking for resources to cover public costs in Bienville, DeSoto, East Carroll, Franklin, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, Tensas and West Carroll parishes.
The governor is also asking for extra money for infrastructure upgrades in the listed parishes to protect them from losses during future winter storms, according to a copy of the disaster declaration request the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness provided.
“I have determined that this winter storm is of such severity and magnitude that effective recovery is beyond the capabilities of the state and local governments and that supplemental federal assistance is necessary,” Landry wrote in his request to the Trump administration.
Landry has not yet asked Trump to approve “individual assistance” as part of the declaration, which could allow people affected during the storm to receive funding for housing and services such as crisis counseling.
The governor is encouraging people affected by the storm to report damage caused to their homes to state and parish officials. These reports could help the governor make the case for individual assistance from the federal government at a later date.
More than 100,000 people were left without power and at least one major city, Monroe, lacked running water following an ice storm that tore through the top of the state. Nine deaths have been attributed to the weather event.
Nearly two weeks after the start of the storm, hundreds of customers were still waiting for their electricity to be restored Thursday morning.
Trump authorized the Federal Emergency Management Authority to help some states, including Louisiana, prepare emergency services in advance of the storm. But the president needs to approve a separate disaster request from Landry for additional federal resources to flow.
Trump has been reluctant to issue similar disaster declarations in other states since taking office again in 2025.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee asked for an expedited disaster declaration for his state a week ago after the winter storm. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves made the same request Tuesday. The president hasn’t approved declarations for either state so far.
During an interview in August, Landry said concerns about Trump or FEMA pulling back from disaster assistance for Louisiana were overblown. The governor has a close relationship with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees FEMA’s operations.
“I mean, we just call her, and we say, ‘These are projects that need to be moved,’” Landry said of Noem during the August interview.
Regarding the recent winter storm, Landry met with FEMA officials last week while attending Washington Mardi Gras in the capital.
Even without the presidential disaster declaration, the Trump administration has increased food assistance and made loans available through the Small Business Administration to those impacted by the storm.
