BATON ROUGE - Governor John Bel Edwards has appealed FEMA's decision to deny individual assistance for St. James and Ascension parishes.

The governor also appealed the decision to deny public assistance for Ascension, Livingston, Orleans, and St. James parishes.

Governor Edwards had requested federal aid for the parishes after tornadoes ravaged much of southeast Louisiana in February.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency had informed Edwards of its decision to deny his request for federal aid March 1. The governor had until the end of the month to appeal the decision.