In Livingston Parish on Monday parish officials faced an angry crowd who have been told that may have to make even more upgrades to their homes following the 2016 flood.
This comes after parish leaders may have dropped the ball to meet requirements for the National Flood Insurance Program back then.
More than 1,200 property owners received a letter from the Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness alerting them they would have to make costly fixes to their homes or businesses to lift them away from any potential floods after the parish failed to survey their flood-damaged properties after 2016. Only properties that received substantial damage from the August 2016 flood are having to make the fix, which means costs that were more than 50% of the property’s value. It only applies to properties in flood zones prior to the 2016 flood.
According to the federal government, the parish fell short in how it responded to the 2016 flood, meaning the parish did not assess hundreds of homes to make sure they were rebuilding according to Federal Flood Protection guidelines. Now, these families were told they must make more changes or even accept buyouts.
