Louisiana residents turn out for Obama visit

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - People turned out along the roadside in Zachary to see President Barack Obama's motorcade during his tour of Louisiana's flood damage.

Jazz Matthews saw her house inundated by flooding in the nearby town of Central, and now it's unliveable. Standing roadside to glimpse Obama, she dismissed criticism that the visit came too late.

Gesturing to the police officers assembled for his motorcade, Matthews noted it takes a huge amount of resources for a presidential visit. "I don't think it's too late. And for me it's not that important honestly because I'm looking at this and all that it takes for him to come," she said.

For Matthews, the most important thing was that federal disaster resources be made available quickly

Michelle Singleton Dyer, a Zachary resident, didn't have flood damage to her home but four of her siblings and her nephew saw their houses destroyed. She's been working closely with her church in Baton Rouge to give aid to those in need. On Tuesday she stood by the side of the road in Zachary, carrying the American flag that she usually carries in her car and waving it as the president drove by.

"The president's visit here today is just right on time," she said. "What we are doing now, we are only in the beginning stages of cleaning up."