Governor John Bel Edwards stated that President Donald Trump approved his request for federal assistance on Sunday, Aug. 23 in related to Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura.

On Friday Gov. Edwards declared a state of emergency and on Saturday, Aug. 22 he requested federal emergency declaration ahead of the storms.

“I would like to thank President Trump for his quick approval of federal assistance for Louisiana and for pre-positioning FEMA assets and other federal support for our state during this unprecedented weather event,” Gov. Edwards said. “We’ve never seen two hurricanes hitting the same state back to back within 48 hours, as is anticipated in the coming days in Louisiana. At the same time, we are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes the prospect of evacuations, search and rescue and mass sheltering complicated and difficult. We will work alongside our federal and local partners to manage this unique and challenging group of disasters.”