Fraudulent contractors have targeted Louisiana residents numerous times over the last several years. The United States Attorney's Office said that over 1,200 complaints for fraudulent cases were reported in Baton Rouge in 2016 after historic floods devastated south Louisiana.

Hurricane Francine slammed into the Louisiana coast Wednesday evening as a dangerous Category 2 storm that knocked out electricity to more than a quarter-million customers and threatened widespread flooding as it sent a potentially deadly storm surge rushing inland along the Gulf Coast.

With hours to go until Hurricane Francine makes landfall in Louisiana, "the time to evacuate has now passed," Jacques Thibodeau, the director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said at a news conference.

Help is within reach for Louisiana residents who may have lost money due to Hurricane Francine.Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is available to businesses and residents in eight parishes whose employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted as a direct result of Hurricane Francine.

In Assumption Parish, the water is like family, but right now the water is full of dead fish after Hurricane Francine.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance is now available to businesses and residents in Louisiana whose employment or self-employment was lost or disrupted due to Hurricane Francine.