BATON ROUGE — FEMA approved a new hazard mitigation plan for Louisiana that will help the state qualify for federal aid and grants until 2029, the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness announced Tuesday.

The Louisiana State Hazard Mitigation Plan went into effect March 21 and will be in place until March 20, 2029. GOHSEP led the effort to establish the new plan.

"Having a strong state hazard mitigation plan is critical to help Louisiana communities prepare and recover from disasters," said Jeffrey Giering, Louisiana's state hazard mitigation officer.

GOHSEP worked with researchers at the LSU AgCenter LaHouse Research and Education Center, as well as the Center for Hazards Assessment, Response and Technology at The University of New Orleans to develop the plan.

LaHouse specifically conducted a natural hazards risk assessment for extreme heat and cold, drought, wildfire, wind, hail, lightning, tornado, flood, dam failure, sinkhole and expansive soil. The risk assessment found that potential losses from natural hazards could reach $5 billion per year by 2050.

The next phase of the statewide planning effort is to share information about natural hazard risk and ways to reduce the risk throughout the state, a release from GOHSEP read. Parishes throughout the state will be updating parish-level hazard mitigation plans and often use the Louisiana State Hazard Mitigation Plan as a baseline.

The plan's approval comes just a week after tornados and other severe weather ripped through the state.