Area parishes offer flood assistance to those in flood’s path

As the Tri-parish region prepares for what is being touted as a historic flooding event, with waters from the opened Morganza Spillway expected to hit St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes today, neighboring communities are coming to their assistance.

Among those offering help is Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser, who last Saturday, sent trailers with flood tubes, pumps and generators to Terrebonne Parish. Several truckloads of sandbags were also sent to Morgan City.

Officials with St. Tammany Parish delivered six dump trucks of sand, two bobcats and a crew of 35 people to St. Mary Parish to shore up protection efforts in Amelia. “They are here now and going stay with us until we get everything finished,” said St. Mary Parish President Paul Naquin.

“It’s great when you have neighbors that help neighbors,” said Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet. “These are people that we have known and worked with, and we appreciate their assistance. Along with Plaquemines, St. Charles Parish sent us some tubes. We’ve had offers of assistance from other neighbors including [St. Tammany Parish President] Kevin Davis, [New Orleans Mayor] Mitch Landrieu and [Lafourche Parish President] Charlotte Randolph. [St. Mary Parish President] Paul Naquin even offered resources after they got in a little better shape. That shows a neighbor really helping a neighbor.”

“I’ve had a number of parish presidents call me,” Naquin added. “Iberia got some equipment down here also. We’re taking everything we can get and going to stockpile it here. If anybody needs some, we got it. We appreciate all the parishes for their help. Without them it would be hard.”

“We stand by our neighbors and are ready to help with crews, supplies or equipment,” Nungesser said. “We’re monitoring our levees in Plaquemines and don’t anticipate any major issues right now, but we are offering help to those areas that may be impacted.”

Plaquemines Parish is home to the mouth of the Mississippi River. On Saturday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began opening floodgates at the Morganza Spillway to ease flooding on the Mississippi while prompting evacuations and flood preparations the length of the Atchafalaya River Basin.