There have been a number of tax law changes that would affect hurricane victims in Louisiana.
One passed in 2016 deals mostly with providing extensions of time to file various types of tax returns and documents. This does not apply to your 2017 return, but to your 2016 return, (which has probably already been filed). This can be seen at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-relief-for-victims-of-severe-storms-flooding-in-louisiana
The one that you possibly refer to the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017 (HR 3823) signed by the President in September 2017. But this specifically refers to taxpayers affected by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, all of which hit in 2017, not 2016.
If you suffered a loss in a hurricane that was a presidentially declared disaster, then you can choose to report that loss on either the year of the loss or in the previous year. But the deadline for making that choice is six months after the return's due date, which would have been October 2017 for a loss in 2016.
If your loss was in 2016, you need to report it on your 2016 return. However, if your loss was in 2017, you can still make the election to report the loss in either 2016 or 2017, whichever would give you the better result.
See the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017 (HR 3823) at http://news.cchgroup.com/2017/10/02/president-trump-signs-disaster-tax-relief-bill-law/ for a description of the bill.
NOTE: the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017 (HR 3823) proposes eliminating the 10% floor for casualty losses in Harvey, Irma, and Maria. If this applies to you, you may likely be better off taking the deduction in 2017.
