BATON ROUGE - In terms of financial costs, the 2016 flood was the second most devastating disaster ever in Louisiana. The flood damaged thousands of homes, many of which were rebuilt with help from the federal government. On the local level, a lot of that coordination was managed by the Louisiana Office of Community Development. 

Pat Forbes, the now-retired executive director of that office, sat down with 2 On Your Side to talk about that flood recovery. 

"That was impossible to anticipate," said Forbes.

A storm that didn't have a name affected thousands of people throughout multiple parishes. After the water receded, Forbes traveled to Washington, D.C., with Governor John Bel Edwards to ask for help.

"It was harder to sell because it was essentially, in most people's eyes, a rainstorm," said Forbes.

The damage created wasn't your typical hurricane wind damage. Forbes, who has assisted with disaster recovery before, knew government officials needed to create a new type of program to help these victims rebuild.

The Restore Louisiana program received $1.7 billion and rebuilt over 17,000 homes. Properties in harm's way were demolished. The state purchased some homes that remained problematic so homeowners could move to a place safer.

Among those moved to safer ground, an entire neighborhood. Pecan Acres underwent an $18 million resettlement. Residents relocated about a mile and a half away to Audubon Estates, a subdivision near New Roads built on higher ground and out of the flood zone. 

Following the flood, 2 On Your Side met with many homeowners working with the Restore Louisiana program. Even with the help, it wasn't an easy road for everyone. It took time.

Each dollar spent had to be carefully accounted for by government overseers. Steps and rules had to be followed, and criteria met. Hundreds of people had to sift through the applications. Despite the process, Forbes says the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development acknowledged Restore Louisiana as the fastest that any state had organized a homeowner program.

"And yet, there we were still trying to get the last dollars out the door for rebuilding homes eight years later," said Forbes.

Louisiana also received an additional $1.2 billion to better prepare for the next disaster.

"And that's huge; I would say that's the biggest distinction among all disasters I worked on," said Forbes.

A lot of that funded the Louisiana Watershed Initiative to improve the way people and governments understand, address, and respond to flood risk.

"How to do it better, every disaster you learn how to do it better," said Forbes.

From the start, Restore Louisiana dollars that went to rebuilding homes were built with fortified roofs. Something the state still gives incentives for today. Building standards were raised for affordable rental housing, built out of the flood zone or elevated.

"I think that is where disaster recovery will continue to go, is that built-in resilience to future disasters, because we can't keep rebuilding," said Forbes.

The Restore Louisiana program seems to have achieved its design: to get communities back while also building toward a better and safer future.