BATON ROUGE - Over one thousand letters will be sent out to homeowners whose houses were substantially damaged in the flood of 2016 over the next year. The first round was sent out Friday.

The city-parish has determined 1,751 structures need to be elevated, sold to the government for demolition, or other significant action should be taken after FEMA rules were not fully followed five years ago. That number was whittled down from 3,300. Houses chosen are located in a FEMA-designated special flood hazard zone, located below the established base flood elevation, and the cost to repair the home was fifty percent or more of its pre-damage value.

Residents are asked to contact the EBR Flood-plain and Mitigation Specialists upon receiving their letter to begin a plan of action. Financial assistance may be available depending on the situation. Property owners also have the option to appeal their substantial damage determination.

East Baton Rouge's Director of Development and Flood-plain Administrator, Rachel Lambert explained not every home that flooded will be getting a letter.

"East Baton Rouge Parish will be sending the letters out in batches of around three hundred every six to eight weeks, " Lambert said. "If you have not received a substantial damage letter by the end of 2021, then there is no reason to expect one from the city parish."

People can email floods@brla.gov if they have any questions.