With the 2022 hurricane season looming, Lake Charles, Louisiana, residents are still working to recover and rebuild from Hurricanes Laura and Delta. The storms pummeled the region in the late summer and fall of 2020, destroying homes and setting off vicious cycles of housing injustice, unmeasured exposure to potentially toxic chemicals, and increased vulnerability to further flooding. The application period for the Lake Charles Housing Rehabilitation and Recovery Program opened last week and Lake Charles mayor Nic Hunter said, “We have no doubt in our mind that the $11.3 million we have dedicated will be gone quickly after the registration period.”
The funds are expected to assist 150 homeowners, and carry specific guidelines, offering a maximum of $60,000 per structure for elderly- or single parent-owned or low-income single-family houses (not mobile homes or duplexes) that are not located in a flood zone. Those still in need of assistance can still register for it, assuming they have internet access. (American Press, AP; Climate Signals background: 2020 Atlantic hurricane season)