BATON ROUGE, La. – Storm victims spill out of the waiting rooms, some clutching water-stained documents, others with the long stare of those stricken by disaster, each with a story of personal tragedy about the Louisiana flood’s devastation to their homes and their lives.
The line for the makeshift Federal Emergency Management Agency recovery center started to gather before the facility opened Monday at a substance abuse treatment site run by a local Baptist church. The stream of traffic has been steady ever since.
Edward Shaw, 62, has been staying at a local Motel 6 since last week’s flooding inundated the house he was renting, the water rising to the top of the front door. He lost his furniture and his car, and hasn’t heard from his landlord about when the house might be repaired.
FEMA started covering his motel costs Sunday, though he’s not sure for how long.
“I hope to God FEMA give me enough so I can start all over again,” Shaw said.