Evacuees can lodge for six more days

Although evacuation shelters are no longer open in Baton Rouge, Hurricane Katrina evacuees who were living in hotels and motels were ordered out Monday.
Evacuees were initially ordered to move out Feb. 6, but on Feb. 1, David Paulison, acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said occupants could require a FEMA-issued authorization code and stay until Feb. 13.
“The Authorization Code program has enabled us to work closely with families to help make certain we have provided them with rental assistance or let them know of alternatives before a hotel subsidiary end,” Paulison said.
An aggressive outreach campaign which included regional and national advertisements through print and broadcast media, field team outreach and a series of six direct distribution flyers to evacuees under hotel room doors made evacuees aware of the authorization code program.
About 75 percent of Katrina evacuees were still utilizing the short-term motel and hotel lodging program contacted FEMA to receive an authorization code.
In order to receive room extensions, evacuees were required to confirm their status as a hurricane evacuee and register with FEMA. Nearly 24,000 evacuees using the short term lodging program remain in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
“Our hotel and motel program successfully provided evacuees with safe, comfortable and private temporary homes while their eligibility for FEMA’s long term housing assistance is determined,” Paulison said.
Long-term housing assistance through rental assistance as well as direct housing such as travel trailers and mobile homes have been provided by FEMA to 750,000 households. Evacuees are also being referred to other federal housing assistance departments including the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Development and The Fannie Mae Foundation.
Evacuees who were not homeowners or renters before Katrina may be eligible for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program.
FEMA has decided to continue working with evacuees that have not found a long term housing solution on an individual basis after Monday.
“All Hurricane Katrina evacuees that have been displaced or their primary residence has been destroyed will continue to receive assistance and will be determined case by case,” said Barbara Ellis, public affairs specialist for FEMA.