Hurricane Relief/Help Information Thread

Sound advise in preparing for the next step. This area is instrumental in how well you succeed getting lives back in order. These very issues can and will linger should you get complaisant. I would call my carrier NOW and start the claim, collect the necessary information after. Remember, the claims are beginning to stand in line now, no different then the other lines. Most carriers are handing out hard checks NOW for immediate dislocation and hardship times. More so for dislocated victims. Get your contractors estimates now and avoid the turds walking the streets looking for you. You need help validating BBB, bonding backgrounds, chime in with names liscense #'s and we will make sure you are not getting took by Leroy and his next 4 pending lawsuits. You simply cannot collect on what is not there.

The Insurance Information Institute, an industry-funded communications group, offers a number of tips on dealing with insurance claims and finding legitimate contractors for those who suffered property damage during the storm.
--Be prepared to give your agent or insurance representative a description of the damage.
Your agent will report the loss to your insurance company or to a qualified adjuster who will contact you as soon as possible to inspect the damage.
If you have had to evacuate, make sure to give your agent a telephone number where you can be reached.
--Take pictures before making temporary repairs and share the photos with claims adjusters.
--Make two copies, one for yourself and one for the adjuster.
The list should include a description of the items, dates of purchase or approximate age, cost at time of purchase and estimated replacement cost.
Don’t throw out damaged furniture or other expensive items. The adjuster will want to see them. n Make whatever temporary repairs possible. Cover broken windows, damaged roofs and walls to prevent further destruction.
Save receipts for supplies and materials you purchase. The insurance company will reimburse reasonable expenses in making temporary repairs.
--Get a written, detailed estimate for permanent repairs from a reliable contractor and give the estimate to the adjuster.
The estimate should contain the proposed repairs, repair costs and replacement prices.
Avoid offers that seem too good to refuse. As well, people should check references before deciding which contractor to choose.

OOPS! Seems there was a page two. :shock:

--Get written bids from multiple contractors.
Ask for at least three references and check with the state licensing board and the Better Business Bureau about the contractor’s record.
--Ask for proof of necessary licenses, building permits, insurance and bonding.
Record the contractor’s license plate number and driver’s license number.
--Be wary of contractors who demand payment in full before work is completed.
If the contractor needs payment to buy supplies, accompany the contractor and pay the supplier directly.
--Insist on a written contract. A contract should clearly state all tasks to be performed, all costs and the payment schedule. Never sign a blank contract or one with blank spaces.
Make sure the contract states who will apply for the necessary permits or licenses. Keep a copy for your files.
--Get any guarantees in writing. The guarantee should clearly state what is guaranteed, who is responsible for the guarantee and how long the guarantee is valid.
--Pay by check. Don’t pay cash. The safest route is to write a check to the contracting company.
A reasonable down payment is 30 percent of the total cost of the project, to be paid upon initial delivery of materials.
--Make final payments only when the work is completed. Do not sign completion papers or make the final payment until the work is completed to your satisfaction.
A reputable contractor will not threaten or pressure you to sign if the job is not finished properly.

 

DONALDSONVILLE — City officials secured several generators Wednesday in hopes of powering up its sewage system lift stations, Mayor Leroy Sullivan said.
The city had requested generators ahead of Hurricane Gustav’s strike, but the equipment did not arrive, Sullivan said.
The waste treatment facility is working, but the city hired a contractor to transport the waste from the lift station to the treatment center.
Necessary city supplies are being replenished, officials said.
“We are trying our best to get everything we need,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan’s assessment of his Ascension Parish city west of the Mississippi River: “Very bad.”
“There is a lot of devastation; the worst I’ve seen,” Sullivan said. “It’s been a nightmare.”
The eastern edge of Gustav’s eye wall brushed up against Donaldsonville.
A tree fell Monday during the storms, splitting Mary Williams’ house at 213 St. Charles St. in two. She and six relatives left moments before the tree crashed down.
“Had we not left, there would have been death here,” Washington said. “Some of the children were in that room.”
Williams is staying at her son’s house for now.
The only hurricane shelter opened on the parish’s west bank closed Tuesday.
Parish President Tommy Martinez said the shelter’s roof began leaking, so the parish transported the residents to a shelter at Dutchtown High School.

Sounds of things, your boy Tommy been bustin his a$$. Same goes for the Surrounding Parish leaders. Some people have stepped aside in their positions allowing experience to take charge. This is great and when this all becomes yesterday, names should be named. Judge them by there performance after this all becomes yesterday.

 

*NOTE* Entergy will have a clue today, this afternoon about power restoration with timelines.

**STORY**

Supply handouts crowded

Throngs of people flocked to sites in East Baton Rouge and Ascension parishes Wednesday where Army National Guard troops were handing out food, water, ice and tarps in the wake of Hurricane Gustav.
Perched on his bicycle and carrying a cooler and two trash bags, Todd Harris, of Baton Rouge, was one of the first people in line at one of the sites set up behind the Wal-Mart at 10606 N. Mall Drive.
“I knew traffic was going to be crazy,” said Harris, who arrived at the center about 7 a.m. “Plus, this was a chance to get some normalcy. I love riding.”
Troops started doling out supplies about 8 a.m. to thousands of people lined up on foot and in their vehicles at two sites in East Baton Rouge and two sites in Ascension.
By about 7 p.m. — before the parishes’ 8 p.m. curfews — the sites closed and at least 60,000 meals ready to eat, 80,000 pounds of ice, 80,000 liters of water and an unknown number of tarps had been distributed, parish officials said.
Mike Futrell, assistant chief administrative officer for East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden, said the site at the Wal-Mart at 14507 Plank Road in Baker ran out of tarps two hours before it closed. Otherwise, the flow of supplies was steady.
But people in Baker waited hours in lines of cars up to two miles for food and supplies Wednesday morning, creating massive traffic jams.
“FEMA designated that this be a distribution point and told everybody about it. Then they told us,” Baker Police Chief Mike Knaps said.
Knaps said he used every available officer to help handle the crowd, but requested additional assistance through the parish Office of Emergency Preparedness. Sheriff’s deputies and Baton Rouge Police Department responded to the request, he said.
People started filling the parking lot and the parking area for the new Wal-Mart store across the street several hours in advance of the announced 7 a.m. opening, but police had to clear the lots to make way for about a dozen 18-wheelers stacked with supplies.
Many of the early arrivals were upset, but police had to establish an orderly system to distribute the goods, Knaps said. “People are being pretty patient,” he said.
Each vehicle that came through the site at North Mall Drive received 12 meals ready to eat, 24 bottles of water, two bags of ice and two tarps, said Dean Dozier, a city-parish employee at the site. Many of the people who walked through the site also got supplies.
“We are trying to accommodate as many people as we can,” said Michael Manning, president and CEO of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, which also provided food and water at the site. “We are doing the best we can.”

For those whose needs were not met Wednesday, supplies will be given out again today beginning at 8 a.m. at the same locations, parish officials said.
City-parish officials said they would like to open a third site but are waiting to hear back from the Federal Emergency Management Agency about commodities availability.
City-parish officials have been working with FEMA to get distribution sites set up since Gustav hit the area Monday.
Futrell said that as soon as the storm hit, he requested a “mass amounts of supplies.”
Initially, he said, he was told the supplies were in Alexandria and would be in Baton Rouge on Tuesday morning. But, on Tuesday, Futrell said, he was told supplies were in Texas, not Louisiana.
A dozen trucks packed with food, water, ice and tarps finally showed up late Tuesday, he said, 48 hours after they were requested and less than 24 hours before they were set up at area distribution sites.
“It’s been absolutely frustrating,” Futrell said of his dealings with FEMA.
Although the federal agency’s response to Gustav has been better compared with its response to Hurricane Katrina three years ago, there still is room for improvement, he said.
FEMA spokesman Manuel Broussard said Wednesday that his agency had to wait to release supplies until President Bush signed an order declaring Louisiana a major disaster area. That order wasn’t signed until Tuesday evening, he said.
In addition, Broussard said, supplies stockpiled in Carville — the closest FEMA warehouse in proximity to East Baton Rouge Parish — since June had to be moved to Camp Beauregard before the storm so they wouldn’t be ruined.
“What good are supplies if they are ruined,” he said, adding that FEMA’s site in Carville received some storm damage.
FEMA spokesman Don Jacks said Wednesday he did not know when city-parish officials first requested supplies, but insisted the agency was prepared.
“We were not going to be caught in a situation like we were during Katrina when supplies couldn’t be brought in,” he said.

FEMA distribution sites have also been set up in at least 17 other parishes in south and central Louisiana.
In Gonzales, the National Guard’s distribution of supplies got off to an early start Wednesday, but Ascension Parish President Tommy Martinez was perturbed there were no blue tarps as promised.
“Once again FEMA is not prepared,” he said.
FEMA told Martinez several different stories, he said.
First, he said, the blue tarps people use to cover their Gustav-damaged homes would be available Wednesday.
“Then, they said they were trucking them in from Atlanta. Next, I was told they would be flown in from Denver.
“FEMA is hard to communicate with and is not properly prepared,” Martinez said.
Louisiana National Guard personnel handed out relief supplies beginning about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, more than three hours ahead of the 4 p.m. scheduled start of the distribution, said Rick Webre, Ascension director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
The supplies arrived from Pineville and Alabama, he said.
A long line of cars extended from inside the grounds of the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center to St. Landry Road and then back to La. 30.
However, cars moved rapidly through the distribution line with Guard members handing supplies to residents. On the West Bank of the parish, the same supplies were distributed at the Lehman Center.

 

The Times-Picayune Headlines

Mail delivery to resume today

For Real folks, you see your mailman walking his/ her beat, hand them a bottle of water and a thank you!

The U.S. Postal Service will resume normal delivery and post office operations today for New Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes.


Even post offices that do not have power will be open for service, with some facilities running on generators, said Daisy Comeaux, spokeswoman for the postal service in Louisiana.
"If it appears there are no lights on, we encourage customers to still go in and knock on the doors and ask for assistance," she said.
Post offices in Port Sulphur and Buras remain closed, and mail for those areas will be processed by the Belle Chasse Post Office. The Barataria post office is closed, and its mail will be delivered from the Lafitte Post Office. The Braithwaite post office also is closed, and those residents will be served by the Chalmette Post Office.
Grand Isle, Galliano, Golden Meadow and Larose post offices remain shuttered. Residents of those areas who receive Social Security Administration checks can pick them up at the Raceland Post Office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.
Mail pick up at blue post office boxes in the New Orleans area will resume on Friday.

Southern Plaquemines to reopen today at noon

Residents of the southern end of Plaquemines Parish can return home as of noon today, but parish officials warn that there is no electricity or sewerage service, and no grocery stores or gas stations.

St. John announces food distribution sites; says 99 percent of homes still without power

A spokesman for St. John Parish said this morning that two Red Cross distribution sites have been set up in the parish to distribute food and water to residents who have returned. He also warned residents who are still evacuated to stay away, saying 99 percent of the parish is still without power and only 50 percent of sewer lift stations are operating on generator power.
The centers will open at 10 a.m. today.
• West Bank Community Center in Edgard
• Regala Park in Reserve

Salvation Army sites serving meals, water

The Salvation Army has begun serving hot meals, snacks, and cold water to residents in Orleans, Jefferson, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St, Mary, and St. Martin Parishes. Over 8,000 meals were served to residents of New Orleans and south Louisiana on Wednesday.

Avoid Airline Highway for drive home; traffic also heavy on I-55

Authorities are advising drivers to avoid using Airline Highway to reenter the city this morning as many traffic lights are out and the intersections are being treated as 4-way stops.
There also are reports of heavy traffic backing up along southbound Interstate 55.

JPSO to aid in Grand Isle recovery

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office will send a contingent of officers, vehicles and supplies to storm-damaged Grand Isle this morning to assist in recovery efforts, according to sheriff's office spokesman John Fortunato.

Chef Menteur bridge closed

The Chef Menteur Pass Bridge on the eastern side of Lake Pontchartrain between New Orleans and Slidell is closed to traffic, City Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis said Wednesday night.
Other details about the closure weren't immediately available.

 

WBR garbage pickup resumes

West Baton Parish President Riley “Peewee” Berthelot announced that garbage pickup will resume today.
He also said three distribution sites now are open and will remain as more supplies come in. The sites have food, ice, water and tarps.

Get your cans out. :grin: I would just keep them at the road and they will come get it when they come.

 

Supply distribution at Blackham Coliseum

LAFAYETTE -- Ice, water, tarps and MREs will be distributed in Lafayette beginning at 10 a.m. today at Blackham Coliseum, 2330 Johnston St.
Emergency officials ask residents to enter at the rear of Blackham Coliseum off of Coliseum Road, which is accessed by Souvenir Gate and Reinhardt Drive.

 

Power restored at Woman’s Hospital

As of the early hours of Thursday, Sept. 4, power has been restored to Woman's Hospital.
Many OB/Gyn physician offices are open, and patients are advised to contact their physicians directly regarding appointments and other questions.

 

* Ascension Parish* UPDATED STORE OPENINGS

Prairieville​

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• Winn-Dixie
• Popeye's - 10:00am to Dark
• LeBlanc's
• Ralphs
• Wal-Mart - GAS Only

Gonzales​

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• LeBlanc's ​
• Murphy's USA ​
• The Cabin Restaurant ​
• Winn-Dixie​

St. Amant​

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Murray's
Delaune's
D & J Groceries

Donaldsonville​

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Mid-Way​

Wal-Mart

**POST #32, UPDATED FUEL LOCATIONS, I refreshed the entire list**

 

Thanks Cali. My parents thank you as well!!

 

Water, MRE's for lower St. Martin Parish residents


Residents in Lower St. Martin Parish can pick up water and meals ready to eat at the following distribution sites:

Butte La Rose
-Noon to 7 p.m. Butte La Rose Fire Departrment, 1721 Herman Dupuis Road, Breaux Bridge

Belle River
-Beginning at 9 a.m. Belle River Fire Station, 1207-A La. 70

Stephensville and Four Mile Bayou
-Beginning at 9 a.m. Doiron Landing's south side parking area, La. 3185

Ice will be available to all residents of Lower St. Martin Parish at the Doiron Landing site. There is a one bag per adult limit and ice will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.