UPDATE: Three more parishes in Acadiana have been added to the FEMA Disaster Declaration list - Evangeline, Jeff Davis and St. Martin.

************************************************************************************

New this morning into the KPEL newsroom: Richard Carbo from Governor John Bel Edwards' office says it just received the FEMA declaration for several Acadiana Parishes. The parishes included are Lafayette, Acadia, Iberia, Vermilion, St. Landry, East Feliciana, Ascension, and Pointe Coupee.

St. Martin Parish is not yet included. The Governor's office says that declaration is expected to come later this morning.

The news comes one day after Governor Edwards' aerial tour of Acadiana. Cameras were on board as the Governor flew over the areas that have been inundated by flood waters in the region.

As we have reported on KPEL, the decision to issue an emergency declaration depends on the number of damage reports filed in a given parish. The affected parishes in the Baton Rouge area, especially the four parishes that earlier received the declaration, got damage reports in sooner than the parish Acadiana area. The Governor's office initially requested that 21 parishes, including eight Acadiana parishes, be on the FEMA declaration list.

Initially, when federal officials looked at the number of damage reports, there were not enough in the Acadiana area to warrant a declaration. Those numbers have since come in and the Governor's office says the FEMA declaration is official.

 

To receive disaster assistance (even if you have insurance), call 800-621-3362.

 

 

 

More From News Talk 96.5 KPEL