In one week, south Louisiana has gone from watching in horror as the rains came down and the waters kept rising to another kind of showers – tears and sweat – as residents salvaged what they could of their personal possessions and volunteers worked to tear out sodden flooring and drywall.
“We have now transitioned from response to recovery and this is going to take many months,” Governor John Bel Edwards told CNN Sunday morning,
The past week has included many recriminations for the lack of national media coverage of the flooding, something the governor attributed to lack of branding.
“It wasn’t a hurricane or a tropical storm. This rain event didn’t have a name,” he said, before urging viewers to donate to the Red Cross or the Baton Rouge Area Foundation or to volunteer to come an help with the rebuilding.
He was also asked about Donald Trump’s visit last Friday.
“I think because it helped to shine a spotlight on Louisiana and on the dire situation that we have here, that it was helpful,” Governor Edwards stated.
Some might view that as an about-face for a governor who had previously issued a statement urging the GOP presidential nominee not come if it was only for a photo-op. But this is a governor who listens.
This reporter asked last week if inter-parish transportation – like the post-Katrina LA Swift program-- was being considered to help those who lost their vehicles to the flood.
“I don’t recall that I have been present at any discussion where that was the subject of those discussions, but you raise a good point and we will start taking a look at that,” Edwards responded.
Sunday, DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson announced service via Hotard buses would begin today: from Gonzales, Denham Springs, Walker, Central and Geismar to Baton Rouge and back. It’s set for this week initially, and the service will be extended longer, if needed.