Terrebonne braces for hurricane season

With hurricane season barely a day old, officials are looking to strengthen their hold on area coastlines. Emergency operation centers throughout the parish are quickly gearing up, hoping for the best from a bitter forecast that is already predicting rampant waters.

“We’re light-years ahead of where we were two years ago,” said Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet of the parish’s response capabilities.

Hurricane Ike dealt heavy blows to the area in 2008, destroying homes, businesses and many people’s livelihoods. Dealing with major storms, then, was a challenge. But officials today acknowledge that things are headed in the right direction.

Administrators at the Office of Emergency Preparedness have since taken the reins on local response efforts. The agency has transformed, over a matter of years, into a puppet-master. It now coordinates events throughout the parish during times of distress, leaving the guesswork at bay.

“Everything is structured,” noted Claudet. In recent years, before the profound change, he said the agency was “…not anywhere near where it should have been.”

Transitions, according to many, have come during a much-needed time.

Past brushes with the Gulf of Mexico, namely during Gustav and Ike, have helped foster growth within the parish’s security sector, explained Claudet. “We’ve made changes that have been very substantial.”

With crude continuing to flow from the oil spill in the Gulf, if a hurricane manages to make headway during the first part of the season, the parish could be in for a sticky situation. Turbulent waters could push oil further inland, allowing it to enter sensitive marshes and swamps, which would make cleanup efforts nearly impossible.

If a storm similar to Ike emerges before the spill is capped, “It would be astronomical. You would have oil spread all over,” explained Reggie Dupre, Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District executive director.

“Anywhere that the storm surge reaches, oil is likely to also reach, which creates a layer of complication to any cleanup effort,” added Michael Massimi, a scientist for the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program.

Dupre said crude could even reach the top of some levees during a storm with Ike’s caliber.

“It’s probably easier to cleanup oil off of a levee than it is off of a marsh. But if that happens, that means everything south of it has been pretty much destroyed and inundated with oil,” he noted.

Rough seas, however, could also help break down some of the oil. But depending on the severity of the storm, response efforts could be halted for weeks.

“…The armada of boats out there that are handling this spill, laying boom, deploying skimmers, drilling relief wells…If a storm should enter the Gulf, all of that has to evacuate. This is potentially a really serious complication,” warned Massimi.

According to Claudet, state and local officials are working closely to devise a strategy in case that happens. “Right now, there’s no definitive plan,” he said. “That’s something we will be working on very promptly.”

For tropical, Category 1 and Category 2 storms, a handful of shelters will be opened in Terrebonne parish. Local volunteers will staff the facilities, along with help from the Houma Police Department and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Locations for the shelters are: South Terrebonne High School, Evergreen Junior High, Houma Junior High, Legion Park Middle, Schriever Elementary, Southdown Elementary, Terrebonne High and West Park Elementary.

During Category 3 storms the shelters are closed and people are typically urged to evacuate. The Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center is designated as the pickup point for individuals needing transportation out of the parish.