NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — President Trump promised all necessary federal aid to rebuild hurricane-ravaged sections of Louisiana and Texas during a trip to both states on Saturday, as he toured storm damage and met with first responders.
“Our hearts go out to the families who have lost loved ones,” Mr. Trump said at the Lake Charles, Louisiana, Fire Department as he met with local officials. “You were hit hard. I heard it was the most powerful storm coming in and hitting your land in 150 years.”
At least 14 people were killed in the Category 4 storm, which made landfall early Thursday with winds of 150 mph. Power is still out for about half a million customers in Louisiana.
Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter told the president, “We took a hell of a punch.” The city of about 80,000 was in the path of the storm.
“You’ll all get it going,” the president said. “One thing I know about this state is they rebuild it fast. We’ll supply what we need to supply. You’re going to have this situation taken care of very quickly. We have to take care of Louisiana, we have to take care of Texas.”
The president signed a disaster declaration for 23 parishes in the state to speed federal aid. The Federal Emergency Management Agency so far has delivered 2.6 million liters of water and 1.4 million meals.
The president told FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor, “You’ve done a hell of a job, Pete.”
Early estimates of the damage to businesses and homes in Louisiana are in the range of $8 billion to $12 billion, and roughly $500 million or less in Texas. By comparison, Hurricane Rita caused damage in the same region estimated at $10.5 billion in September 2005 — about $13.3 billion in today’s dollars, according to a report in The Advocate.
Mr. Trump arrived on Air Force One in early afternoon — 15 years to the day since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf coast — and prayed with local officials and residents. He toured a distribution center to applause from local aid workers.
“I want to thank all the pastors across the state, people of faith across the state who have been helping families and communities recover,” Mr. Trump said. “Louisiana has been through a lot, with COVID and this.”
Among those with him were Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, and Republicans Sen. John Kennedy and Rep. Steve Scalise.
Residents in hard-hit areas of Louisiana are being urged not to return, but some are doing so anyway as they try to assess losses, an effort complicated by downed trees and torn-up roads.
Mr. Hunter said in a Facebook post showing the devastation, “If you come back to Lake Charles to stay, make sure you understand the above reality and are prepared to live in it for many days, probably weeks.”
After he signed the disaster declaration, Mr. Trump handed out souvenirs to emergency officials at the hurricane briefing. “Come here fellas,” he said, asking for pens. “You can sell this tonight on eBay. Who’s going to get this one? Sell it tonight on eBay — $10,000.”
Mr. Trump then took Marine One to jump over to Orange, Texas, and met with Gov. Greg Abbott and local officials to discuss the damage there.
The death toll from the powerful storm stood at 16 Saturday evening.
The exact spots on Louisiana’s southwest coast that were smote by Hurricane Rita fifteen years ago took Laura’s strongest punch. Much of Cameron Parish remained reachable only by boat Saturday after coping with a 9-foot storm surge in addition to the high winds.
— Dave Boyer reported from Washington.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
• James Varney can be reached at jvarney@washingtontimes.com.
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