Jody Harelson, 52, dumps a wheel barrel of wet sheet rock an ever growing pile of rubbish as he helps clean out the flood damaged home of Sheila Siener, 58, in St. Amant, La.,
Jody Harelson, 52, dumps a wheel barrel of wet sheet rock an ever growing pile of rubbish as he helps clean out the flood damaged home of Sheila Siener, 58, in St. Amant, La. (AP Photo/Max Becherer)
loading...

The number of people registering for federal disaster aid after Louisiana's heavy flooding continues to rise.

The state said Wednesday that the number of registrants with the Federal Emergency Management Agency has reached 119,000. More than $132 million has been approved by the federal agency in grants for temporary rental assistance, home repairs and other disaster response aid.

Meanwhile, nearly 27,000 claims have been filed with the National Flood Insurance Program, and state officials say $37 million in advance payments have been approved for flood insurance policyholders.

A storm that began Aug. 12 dumped as much as 2 feet of water in some areas within 48 hours, causing widespread damage that Gov. John Bel Edwards says impacted more than 100,000 homes.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed)

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM