Terrebonne’s emergency center ready for storms

Hurricane season is here, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecasted an above-normal year for storm activity in the Atlantic Basin.

NOAA has predicted that during the six-month hurricane season there could be 12 to 18 named storms with winds above 39 mph, of which up to 10 could become hurricanes with winds at 74 mph or greater and three to six could form into major hurricanes with winds exceeding 111 mph.

Each of these predicted storms has 70 percent likelihood to exceed the seasonal average of 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes.

“The United States was fortunate last year,” NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said. “However, we can’t count on luck to get us through this season. We need to be prepared, especially with this above-normal outlook.”

One person who is ready for hurricane season, although much of his time during the past month has been focused on current backwater flooding concerns in the Tri-parish region, is Terrebonne Parish Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Earl Eues.

With a fully equipped operations and emergency response in Houma, Eues and his team coordinate activities among first responders, police departments, sheriff’s offices and other personnel and agencies during disaster events.

“When there is a tropical storm in the Atlantic, we start monitoring storms from their beginning,” Eues said. “We continue to monitor the storm until it becomes a threat in the Gulf of Mexico. Once it is in the Gulf, we activate our hurricane plan and start preparing the parish.”

Through a network of trained responders, the Office of Emergency Preparedness implements 17 support functions from monitoring conditions to informing the news media of public announcements, to providing meeting space for government officials, to opening temporary shelters, to implementing evacuation procedures when necessary.

“We have a reverse 911 system where we can notify residents when we call for an evacuation,” Eues said. “Once a decision is made to call for a mandatory evacuation, which would happen for a Category 3, 4 or 5 storm, the news media is notified and we use our reverse 911 system to notify the public.”

Eues said that in the case of evacuation, generally La. Highway 308 and La. Highway 1 headed north are starting points for residents in the immediate area. “We typically recommend people evacuate north and avoid New Orleans because of traffic problems,” he said.

Temporary shelters are available during Category 1 and 2 storms and are located in the northern part of the parish. Those pre-designated shelters include Evergreen Junior High School, South Terrebonne High School, Terrebonne High School, Houma Junior High School, the Devon Keller Memorial Center in Gibson, Schriever Recreational Center, Schriever Elementary School and the Dumas Auditorium.

“The public needs to understand that when we open shelters it is basically a place to provide safe harbor until the storm passes,” Eues said. “It is not a place where you are going to be offered fine linen and gourmet food.”

Eues explained people going to shelters should have their hurricane kits with them and enough food, water and other necessities to last them at least 72 hours. Shelter users are also responsible for bringing their own bedding, medications, baby formula, bottles, diapers and other needed items. “Basically, anything you would use on a daily basis,” he said.

In the event of hurricanes the Red Cross will not enter areas south of Interstate 10 until a storm has passed. So, residents should not expect to see those crews until after a hurricane has made its way through the region and flood waters have subsided.

Louisiana is the third most active hurricane state after Florida and Texas. Between 1851 and 2010, a total of 55 hurricanes made landfall in Louisiana with 20 of those causing major damage. During that same time period, the eye of 63 storms hit Texas, of which 19 were categorized as major storms. Florida logged 113 hurricanes during that 159-year period with 37 storms causing major damage.

“No matter what the hurricane season is, whether we have active years or relatively quiet years, when you look at the entire basin, we’ve had experiences when hurricanes have hit the Louisiana coast,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Revitte. “The message here is due to the vulnerability of our area, you should go into every season prepared that you could have a hurricane, a significant hurricane.”

Revitte said there is no scientific support for the myth that every three years will offer a devastating hurricane. “But [Louisiana] is definitely a high-frequency area for hurricanes and tropical storms,” he said.

Eues said that in addition to residents building their hurricane kits, they should also register for the 911 reverse call system. To get on the system Terrebonne Parish residents can go to the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government website and click on the first call network logo. “If you have a home phone from BellSouth or AT&T you are automatically in the system,” he said.

According to NOAA data, the 2011 hurricane season could be as active as any experienced during the past 15 years.