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• Big gaps found in nursing homes' disaster plans

  April 16, 2012 6:15 AM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Tornado, hurricane or flood, nursing homes are woefully unprepared to protect frail residents in a natural disaster, government investigators say. Emergency plans required by the government often lack specific steps such as coordinating with local authorities, notifying relatives or even pinning name tags and medication lists to... more »

• BP Begins to Put Spill Behind it with Settlement

  March 3, 2012 1:20 PM

  NEW YORK (AP) - BP's settlement deal with thousands of victims of the 2010 Gulf oil spill is a major step toward putting the worst oil spill in U.S. history behind it. BP says it will not have to increase the $37.2 billion it has set aside to pay for... more »

• US Officials Conducting Dead Bird Study in Gulf

  August 7, 2011 2:29 PM

  MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A new study being conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service aims to determine how many birds may have died during the Gulf oil spill last year. The Press-Register in Mobile (http://bit.ly/qD83rW ) reports that in the "Carcass Drift Study" funded by BP PLC, researchers... more »

• Civil Air Patrol Prepares to Assist in Flooding Disaster

  May 15, 2011 9:00 AM

  GONZALES, La. - Louisiana Wing Civil Air Patrol (CAP) members are assisting the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and the Louisiana Army National Guard by providing high-resolution aerial photographs of the Morganza Spillway. CAP has been requested to provide still photography of the I-10 basin area... more »

• Residents are Encouraged to Apply for DSNAP Funds Early

  May 10, 2011 12:05 PM

  As Louisiana residents eye the rising Mississippi River, the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is encouraging residents to prepare by pre-applying online for Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (DSNAP), formerly called Disaster Food Stamps. "Louisiana has not seen a flood threat like this in many... more »

• Sentencing for 5 of 6 in Ball Disaster Fraud

  May 6, 2011 7:03 AM

  ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) - A federal judge is scheduled to sentence five of the six defendants from Ball who have pleaded guilty to defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency after Hurricane Gustav. Those facing sentencing Friday include former town clerk Brenda Kimball, former police chief Jay Barber and three of... more »

• Lawmakers to Tackle Contentious Disaster Funds

  April 28, 2011 9:03 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - New Orleans Democrats are criticizing the state's handling of a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program to elevate houses that are vulnerable to hurricanes. Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, who chairs the Select Committee on Hurricane Recovery, will discuss the program in a special meeting of... more »

• Scientists Fret Over BP Funds for Gulf Research

  April 24, 2011 1:51 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Scientists say it is taking far too long to dole out millions of dollars in BP funds for badly needed Gulf oil spill research, and it could be too late to assess the crude's impact on pelicans, shrimp and other species by the time studies begin.... more »

• Along Gulf, Spill Still Defines State of Mind

  April 16, 2011 3:23 PM

  ALONG THE GULF COAST (AP) - In the small brick church across the road from the chocolate waters of Bayou Lafourche, the Rev. Joseph Anthony Pereira unbuttons his collar as the last parishioners pull out of the lot. Tonight, nearly a year after the BP oil spill began, he's asked... more »

• Rods Likely Melting in Japanese Reactors

  March 14, 2011 11:25 AM

  TOKYO (AP) - Japanese officials say the nuclear fuel rods appear to be melting inside all three of the most troubled nuclear reactors. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said,"Although we cannot directly check it, it's highly likely happening." Some experts would consider that a partial meltdown of the reactor. Others,... more »

• Japan Races to Avert Multiple Nuclear Meltdowns

  March 13, 2011 10:47 AM

  KORIYAMA, Japan (AP) - Japan's nuclear crisis intensified Sunday as authorities raced to combat the threat of multiple reactor meltdowns and more than 170,000 people evacuated the quake- and tsunami-savaged northeastern coast where fears spread over possible radioactive contamination. Nuclear plant operators were frantically trying to keep temperatures down in... more »

• Federal Government Bills BP for $62 Million

  March 13, 2011 10:29 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Obama administration has billed BP PLC. for $62 million spent responding to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The federal government sent the bill Friday. It was the 10th bill sent to BP and other companies considered responsible parties. BP is required to pay for... more »

• Housing aid extended for Ike, Gustav victims

  February 18, 2011 9:22 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Federal officials are extending disaster housing aid for victims of hurricane Ike and Gustav by five months. The extension, announced Friday, will help about 1,743 families in Louisiana. The victims have been receiving disaster aid since the hurricanes hit in the fall of 2008. The rental... more »

• Coast Guard: Oil Cleanup Should be Scaled Back

  February 12, 2011 10:17 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The cleanup of oiled beaches along the Gulf of Mexico has reached a point where crews, heavy equipment and thorough scrubbing can cause more damage to the ecosystem than good, the Coast Guard said Friday. Birds, sea turtles, fish and other species are more likely to... more »

• Coast Guard: Oil cleanup should be scaled back

  February 11, 2011 8:06 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The cleanup of oiled beaches along the Gulf of Mexico has reached a point where crews, heavy equipment and thorough scrubbing can cause more damage to the ecosystem than good, the Coast Guard said Friday. Birds, sea turtles, fish and other species are more likely to... more »

• Rig owner refuses to honor oil spill subpoenas

  December 29, 2010 8:11 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The owner of the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico is refusing to honor subpoenas from a federal board that has challenged the company's involvement in monitoring the testing of a key piece of equipment that failed to stop the oil spill disaster. Transocean... more »

• Spill panel says management culture to blame

  November 9, 2010 9:40 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - It wasn't just the botched technical decisions. BP and other companies' management, communication and overconfidence in dealing with risk led to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, investigators for the presidential commission said Tuesday. The commission's chief engineer, Richard Sears, outlined seven managerial findings, including muddled lines... more »

• Landrieu: City's disaster loans will be forgiven

  November 8, 2010 9:33 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The City of New Orleans has received word that the federal government is forgiving its $240 million in disaster loans received after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said Monday. Storm-ravaged local government agencies across Louisiana - sheriffs, school boards, parish councils, fire districts and... more »

• Disaster Relief for 2009's Harvest Season

  September 20, 2010 5:02 PM

  Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., announced the availability of a $550 million agricultural disaster relief program to help farmers who suffered through 2009's harvest season, the wettest on record. Among the eligible crops are upland cotton, rice, soybeans and sweet potatoes in Secretary of Agriculture-designated disaster areas damaged... more »

• Administrator of the $20 Billion "Skeptical" of Claims Not Close to Disaster

  September 14, 2010 5:55 PM

  ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The administrator of the $20 billion compensation fund for victims of the Gulf oil spill said Tuesday he is "skeptical" of claims that are not in close proximity to the BP disaster but is becoming more flexible on the issue. Ken Feinberg told members of the... more »

• BP avoiding hunter's crosshairs

  September 7, 2010 7:34 PM

  BP's clean-up crews want hunters to know they'll be in the wetlands and to watch where they aim. This weekend kicks-off teal season and BP is taking steps to protect their workers and the shoreline itself. First, crews are going to be held-back until nine in the morning- giving hunters... more »

• State wants more disaster loans forgiven by feds

  August 19, 2010 9:43 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - One in five of the sheriffs, school boards, parish councils and other storm-ravaged local government agencies who borrowed federal funds after hurricanes Katrina and Rita won't have to repay a dime of the loans. Those 11 agencies - in New Orleans and surrounding St. Bernard... more »

• State worker pleads guilty in disaster food case

  August 19, 2010 9:33 PM

  LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - A 50-year-old woman accused of fraudulently obtaining and using disaster in a lot of trouble. Conand friends after hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike, has pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of government money. Teresa Hawkins, of Baldwin, is the former parish manager of the... more »

• Housing Commissioners ousted after audit

  August 18, 2010 7:45 PM

  Three Housing Authority commissioners received a letter in the mail. It told them they are no longer to report to commission meetings and will no longer be needed by the Housing Authority. The letter was signed by Parish President Joey Durel. The move comes after an audit discovered "mishandled... more »

• 4 Plead Guilty in Disaster Food Stamp Cases

  August 17, 2010 7:19 AM

  LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) -Four former state employees have pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to disaster food stamp fraud. U.S. District Judge Richard Haik accepted guilty pleas Monday from 46-year-old Angela Gray of New Iberia; 46-year-old Edie Harrison of New Iberia; 54-year-old Paula Bell of Baldwin; and 41-year-old... more »

• FEMA to Forgive $18 million Community Disaster Loan to St. Bernard Parish

  August 13, 2010 5:23 PM

  CHALMETTE, La. (AP) - St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro has signed the paperwork needed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the agency to forgive an $18 million Community Disaster Loan granted after Hurricane Katrina. According to a Friday news release, Craig Fenton, a loan analyst working with FEMA,... more »

• For Oyster Clan, Just Another Disaster In A Series

  July 26, 2010 8:42 AM

  HOUMA, La. (AP) - As survival stories go, the Voisins have a gem: It goes back more than 200 years ago when the first members of their family to set foot on Louisiana soil weathered a monster storm in spectacular fashion, clinging to their porch while others were washed away.... more »

• Prepare by Pre-Applying Online for Disaster Food Stamps

  July 23, 2010 11:36 AM

  With Tropical Storm Bonnie expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico later today, the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is encouraging residents to prepare by pre-applying online for Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (DSNAP), formerly called Disaster Food Stamps. "Hurricane season is well underway, and this... more »

• Hearing Into the Deepwater Horizon Disaster Has Resumed

  July 19, 2010 12:52 PM

  KENNER, La. (AP) - A federal hearing into the Deepwater Horizon disaster has resumed in New Orleans with complaints coming from attorneys for two rig workers who are possible targets of the investigation. Attorneys for the two rig workers said Monday that their clients weren't named as "parties in interest,"... more »

• Ex-FEMA Director Could Help BP Out of its Disaster

  June 28, 2010 8:19 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - James Lee Witt, America's go-to guy for disaster response, knows how to take an unpopular organization and turn it around. If BP hires the former Federal Emergency Management Agency director to help with community relations, it could further a makeover of the oil giant's Gulf Coast image.... more »

• BP Community Outreach Center

  June 25, 2010 7:20 PM

  People looking for answers about the Crude Disaster now have a new way to access information. No more searching websites or calling hotlines. Instead, BP employees are standing by, in the flesh, to talk with you face to face. "Our goal is pretty simple, we're here to protect the... more »

• Day Of Prayer In TX Over Lives Lost And The Environmental Disaster In The Gulf

  June 24, 2010 12:47 PM

  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Gov. Rick Perry has declared Sunday a day of prayer in Texas over lives lost and the environmental disaster of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Perry, who Wednesday returned to Austin after more than a week in China on an economic development trip, issued a... more »

• Ixtoc Disaster Remains The Gulf's - And The World's - Worst Oil Spill

  June 4, 2010 11:24 AM

  MEXICO CITY (AP) - It started with a burst of gas through the drilling well. Workers scrambled to close the safety valves but within moments, the platform caught fire and collapsed. Tens of millions of gallons of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico. Numerous attempts to stanch the spill... more »

• Hurricane Season Preps- Get A Game Plan

  May 27, 2010 12:59 PM

  Hurricane season starts Tuesday-- and law enforcement and parish leaders are getting ready. They want everyone to get a game plan now. Acadiana's leaders in emergency preparedness finalized plans this week at meetings such as Thursday's summit in St. Martinville. They say pre-planning is especially important in... more »

• BP Had a Key Role in the Exxon Valdez Disaster

  May 25, 2010 9:06 AM

  Since a busted oil well began spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico a month ago, the catastrophe has constantly been measured against the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. The Alaska spill leaked nearly 11 million gallons of crude, killed countless wildlife and tarnished the owner of the damaged tanker, Exxon.... more »

• Analysis: As Slick Spreads, So Does Frustration

  May 25, 2010 8:48 AM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Oil spill frustration is rampant. The White House is being pounded for not acting more aggressively in the month-old oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The administration is hitting back, mostly at BP. Louisiana is threatening to take matters into its own hands. The truth... more »

• At Worst, Oil Spewed Already Could Fill 102 Gyms

  May 21, 2010 10:02 AM

  COVINGTON, La. (AP) - Drip by drip, day by day, the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico is adding up to mind-boggling numbers. Using worst case scenarios calculated by scientists, a month's worth of leaking oil could fill enough gallon milk jugs to stretch more than 11,300 miles. That's... more »

• 2nd Extension Disaster Housing Assistance Program

  May 13, 2010 12:01 PM

  WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate announced today a second extension to the Disaster Housing Assistance Program-Ike (DHAP-Ike), giving families who were displaced by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav more time to transition to long-term housing solutions. This extension... more »

• Update: Smaller Containment Being Lowered In Gulf

  May 12, 2010 7:36 AM

  ON THE GULF OF MEXICO (AP) - A second, smaller oil containment box was lowered into the sea near the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico. The box was being slowly submerged to the seabed Tuesday. But it won't be placed over the spewing well right away. BP spokesman... more »

• Acadiana Parishes Now Eligible for Disaster Assistance

  May 11, 2010 11:43 AM

  SBA Administrator Karen Mills announced today that SBA is making economic injury assistance available in 21 additional parishes for small businesses suffering financial losses following the April 20 Deepwater BP oil spill that shut down commercial and recreational fishing along the state’s southeast coast. With these additions, SBA economic... more »

• New Areas Open to Shrimping and Fishing

  May 11, 2010 9:49 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La.- The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says most areas west of the Mississippi River are open to recreational and commercial fishing, including shrimping. It says the exceptions include part of the state's territorial sea west of the Mississippi River to Point au Fer and the beaches... more »

• Past Spill Exercises Foretell Current Disaster

  May 7, 2010 10:24 AM

  WASHINGTON - As the oil rig burned and thousands of barrels of the thick crude gushed into the Gulf of Mexico on that day in April, Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen soon realized there weren't enough tools available to respond to the catastrophe. There wasn't enough dispersant readily available... more »

• Oil Spill Disaster Loans

  May 4, 2010 4:17 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has asked the federal Small Business Administration to make special loans available in six parishes. If granted, economic disaster loans would be available to small businesses and private non-profits affected by the oil spill. The request covers Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines,... more »

• Haiti Earthquake Response

  January 15, 2010 11:21 AM

  " Monetary donations are preferred to commodity contributions. " Anyone wishing to donate or provide assistance in Haiti following the devastating earthquake that struck near Port au Prince on Jan 12, 2010, is asked to contact the Center for International Disaster Information at www.cidi.org or call 703-276-1914. "... more »

• UL: Hazard Mitigation Plan ready for public viewing

  December 16, 2009 1:08 PM

  LAFAYETTE - The final draft of UL Lafayette's Hazard Mitigation Plan is ready for public viewing. The draft has been developed through the Disaster Resistant University (DRU) grant program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). UL Lafayette officials have been working to develop a comprehensive hazard mitigation... more »

• 53 parishes declared natural disaster

  November 30, 2009 3:41 PM

  Today, Governor Bobby Jindal announced that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has declared 53 parishes as primary natural disaster areas and ten parishes as contiguous disaster areas due to a combination of disasters including a severe drought and excessive rainfall that caused production losses for farmers throughout the state.... more »