BATON ROUGE - President Joe Biden approved Governor Edwards request for a federal emergency declaration Monday night ahead of Tropical Storm Nicholas.

Edwards officially made the request Monday ahead of the storm's potential impact in Louisiana. The storm system is expected to bring heavy rain to the area. 

The requests comes a day after the governor also declared a state of emergency will allow resources to be allocated to storm response efforts.

Read the full statement here:

Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that an emergency exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Nicholas beginning on September 12, 2021, and continuing.
 
The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in all 64 Louisiana parishes.
 
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.  Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance and reimbursement for mass care including evacuation and shelter support under the Public Assistance program will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding. 
 
Deanne Criswell, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named John E. Long as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.