"Parish officials say "
Unless it is in writing, no way I trust LA officials about what they say they were told.
The PRESIDENT said that everyone who was under mandatory evacuation was eligible. I watched it myself. He had that ticked off look in his eyes that I said "thank GOD I'm not the one he's pissed off with". Lake Charles mayor Randy Roach then came on after the POTUS' press conference and said that the details were hammered out with FEMA at 10pm the night before about a week and a half after the storm. People in the mandatory evacuation area were not allowed to return home for almost a month.
FEMA is good at saying one thing and then doing another with constant indecision. I think the constant confusion is job security. It's also wasted money. Figure out what the policy is and stick with it. If they aren't really going to help then stop jacking people around who have lost everything.
Southwest Louisiana isn't like NOLA. We actually have competent leadership here who isn't corrupt to the bone. They did a superb job before, during, and after the storm.