Governor John Bel Edwards continues to tour areas devastated by Hurricane Laura.
Tuesday was the governor's third trip to Lake Charles, during which he visited with the National Guard at a distribution site, had a private meeting with local leaders, and ended his tour by visiting cell provider emergency response stations.
The governor's message today is to hold onto hope amid the recovery efforts.
In the wake of Hurricane Laura, the entire Louisiana National Guard is activated. They're working to clear debris and manning 40 distribution sites, like the one at the Lake Charles Civic Center.
Gov. Edwards is ready to activate more if needed.
"When those needs are met, it gives them hope that we will recover and at some point, we will get back to normal," the governor said Tuesday. "In fact, we're going to get back to better than normal."
The governor says the state will invest in mitigation measures to hopefully cut back on the extent of catastrophic damage.
"As tough as it was in Cameron, there are schools, courthouses, and buildings that fared very well even though this was the strongest storm in 160 years. We're going to be doing a lot of that work here too."
As power crews move in, so are cell providers, setting up hot spots. Edwards says once some infrastructure is back up, there will be an effort to get people back in their homes.
"What you need to have a home that is safe, secure and habitable is a tarp on your home. There will be a combination of things like travel trailers people will be able to put on their own property, trailer parks will be created. Until then, we will keep people in hotels as long as possible," the governor added.
Gov. Edwards also pointed out the importance of continuing to share the stories and recovery efforts, as many people will lean on others on their road to recovery.
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