The southern Louisiana floods have unleashed squabbles over how much federal aid Louisiana will ultimately receive. Thirteen have died in the affected parishes, and thousands more have lost their homes and plan to seek millions in aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the indispensable but much-maligned agency charged with overseeing response and recovery in places like Baton Rouge and its environs.
Dealing with federal disaster assistance requests in the wake of major floods, snowstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires should be straightforward. Sometimes an event may hit a local community hard, but not hard enough to warrant a federal disaster declaration and the dollars that come with it. Depending on the severity of a catastrophe, some communities might require additional federal aid.
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