ST. LANDRY PARISH — Two weeks after a historic snowstorm blanketed Acadiana, St. Landry Parish officials are still tallying the financial impact. According to Van Reed, Director of Emergency Preparedness, the storm’s total cost has already surpassed $300,000.
In an interview on Tuesday evening, Reed explained that the snowstorm of 2025 caught parish officials off guard. They had been preparing for an ice event, but the snowstorm changed the approach entirely.
“We were preparing for an ice event, so we had to quickly switch gears and figure out how to respond to a snowstorm instead,” Reed said.
With nearly a foot of snow falling in the region, the parish called in public works crews and purchased three motor graders to help clear major roadways, including the Interstate and Hwy 190 west of Opelousas.
“Our first priority was getting those roads cleared so that first responders could get through,” Reed said.
In addition to heavy equipment, the parish also supplied water tanks to local hospitals in case of water service disruptions and approved overtime pay for public works crews. Reed also noted that the parish provided warming shelters and animal shelters for residents in need, while purchasing materials like sand to aid in clearing roadways.
As of now, the costs have reached approximately $300,000. St. Landry Parish is working to secure federal funding to help cover some of the expenses, but first, the parish must meet a state and parish threshold of $389,000 before it can submit a request to FEMA. This process is expected to take several weeks.
“We’re doing everything we can to gather the numbers and hit that threshold,” Reed said.
The parish is also working with local municipalities to see how much they spent preparing for the storm.
When asked if there was anything that could have been done differently in preparing for the storm, Reed responded, “Honestly, I don’t think there was anything we could have done better. We’ve just learned how to handle snow.
Check out the video below of Van Reed, the director of emergency preparedness explaining why residents who might have suffered damage to their homes will not be eligible for any federal assistance.
