Manufactured homes now get custom treatment
August 23, 2012
Is Isaac the beginning? Louisiana has history of two-storm seasons
August 30, 2012
UPDATE 5:35 p.m. Saturday
By ERIC BESSON
eric@tri-parishtimes.com
Parish officials believe they have contained rising waters that momentarily breached the north Lafourche Parish’s protection levees near Kraemer and Bayou Boeuf yesterday, according to the councilman that represents the district.
Water overtopped the 4-foot-high protection levee in Kraemer in at least five spots on Friday, Councilman Michael Delatte said. The water is still rising against the levees and it has yet to crest, but officials believe sandbagging efforts will prevent water from further entering the system, the councilman added.
“We have the upper-hand on the flood,” Delatte said. “I think the worst is behind us. … I’m going to sleep a hell of a lot better tonight than I’ve slept the last two nights.”
Delatte said officials would continue monitoring the system and placing additional sandbags throughout the area.
More than 500,000 acres northwest of Lafourche Parish, including Labadieville and Donaldsonville, drain into Lac Des Allemands, Delatte said. Persistent south winds and tidal surges in the Barataria Basin have prevented the lake from draining properly.
The water in the lake is slowly receding, but some of its runoff is funneling down Bayou Des Allemands and pressing against the Kraemer protection levee, which protects at least 1,000 residents.
“You have more water coming in from the west than what is going out from the east,” Delatte said. “It’s kind of making Lac Des Allemands overflow its banks and push that water higher in the Kraemer area.”
Much of the water inside the protection levees has been pumped out, but water remains as high as 4 to 5 inches on parts of Couteau Road, Delatte said. The road was one of the last places to flood, so it will be used as a site of reference as to when the water draining from the northwest crests, Delatte said.
As of Saturday, Delatte said he heard no reports of home flooding in his district, which encompasses Kraemer, Chackbay, Choctaw and Des Allemands.
Lafourche Parish Government spokesman Logan Banks was unreachable Saturday afternoon.
No evacuation has been called at this time, and sandbagging efforts continue today to fight rising waters in the Kraemer and Bayou Boeuf area, Banks said in a press release earlier today.
At this point, 6,000 feet of Tiger Dams have been deployed, as have 8 truckloads of sand and 10,000 sand bags, Banks said. Local volunteers, National Guardsmen, Lafourche Parish personnel are still combating the threat.
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UPDATE 3:15 p.m. Saturday
By ERIC BESSON
eric@tri-parishtimes.com
Lafourche Parish Government spokesman Logan Banks acknowledged on Saturday the “fragile levee surrounding” Kraemer “has breached periodically/briefly” at times since Wednesday night.
No evacuation has been called at this time, and sandbagging efforts continue today to fight rising waters in the Kraemer and Bayou Boeuf area, Banks said in a press release.
Regional rainwater typically drains through Lac Des Allemands and into the Barataria Basin. However, southerly winds and tidal surges in the basin have funneled the water instead through Bayou Des Allemands and up against the 4-foot levee protecting Kraemer, according to Councilman Michael Delatte, who represents Kraemer, Chackbay, Choctaw and Des Allemands.
Residents and Delatte said Friday water had overtopped the levee at times, but floodlighting efforts and pumps stationed in the area helped lower the water level inside the system and the breaches have been repaired as they are located.
No homes have flooded, but water inside the system approached doorways on Landreau Drive and Eric Street. The levee protects 1,000 residents, Banks said.
The situation remains fluid, and the threat remains for it to worsen.
“Southerly winds are expected up to 24 hours, further exasperating the situation by pushing water from Bayou Des Allemands,” Banks said.
Terrebonne Parish has loaned water bladders, used as protection, and sand to Lafourche Parish.
At this point, 6,000 feet of the bladders, known as Tiger Dams, have been deployed, as have 8 truckloads of sand and 10,000 sand bags, Banks said.
Local volunteers, National Guardsmen, Lafourche Parish personnel are still combating the flood threat, Banks said.
UPDATE 4:12 p.m. Friday
By ERIC BESSON
eric@tri-parishtimes.com
Kraemer residents are combating a serious flood threat from rising water in Lac Des Allemands as the surrounding area drains regional rainwater into the burgeoning body of water.
The water, blocked from natural drainage flow by southern winds and tidal surges in the Barataria Basin, is funneling into Bayou Des Allemands and has breached protection levees in at least five spots in Kraemer throughout the last day and a half, Councilman Michael Delatte said.
Rainwater typically drains from Donaldsonville and Labadieville through back channels and Lac Des Allemands into the Barataria Basin. Winds and rising water throughout the Barataria Basin and Lake Salvador have obstructed the flow, and the water is now encroaching the bases of some elevated homes in Kraemer, Delatte said.
“Right now, this area is ground zero,” Delatte said.
At the end of Landreau Drive, residents outfitted in hip-boots have been trudging through about a foot of water, climbing atop the levee and adding to its height with a steady supply of sandbags.
“This is unreal: We’re in a protection levee, and we’re flooding,” Marvin Kraemer, a 59-year-old resident on neighboring Eric Street, said.
As of Friday, water inside the levee had receded slightly from Thursday night as the area’s pumps churned, many of the breaches have been repaired and no homes were yet flooded, residents said, but it’s possible that the situation could worsen, Delatte said.
“It’s far from over for us,” the councilman said. “The water is still flowing. The water is slowing down, but it’s still not receding – it’s still climbing. Where is the point of the crest from the water coming in from Des Allemands and the point of the crest of the water coming down from Labadieville? … Where is that happening? By the rate that it’s slowing down now, and if we have a little wind change by this afternoon, the water from the western end should reverse and start coming through Kraemer. They could have problems there as well.”
Water could be seen trickling beneath a water bladder used as protection, past sandbags and into the borrow canal that momentarily seems inseparable from the inundated Landreau Drive.
The electrical pump near Bayou Boeuf Elementary has been inoperable since Hurricane Isaac began its assault on north Lafourche Parish.
Another pump in the same location, powered by natural gas, has been operating and has helped decrease the water levels inside the levee. Three other permanent pumps are scattered in Kraemer, and more backup pumps are on the way, Delatte said.
Delatte said he made a patrol at 10 p.m. Wednesday night. “It was the highest I had ever seen the water,” he said. “It usually crests in this area two to three days after a rain event. … Where that crest point is right now, we don’t seem to know.”
On Thursday night, the sheriff’s office sent about 150 trusty inmates to Kraemer and the National Guard assisted in stopping the breaches, Delatte said.
Like most places in the Tri-parish region, Kraemer was spared major structural damage from Hurricane Isaac. Fallen trees were chopped and pushed off the road, and a few power poles teeter ominously along adjacent lines. Electricity has not yet been restored, which coupled with everyday unreliability of cell phones here, makes communication difficult.
The flood threat, however, is the most-pressing issue, and residents haven’t hesitated to get their hands dirty to protect the area.
“We’ve been doing this all our life,” Kraemer said.
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UPDATE 8:29 a.m. Friday
STAFF REPORTS
Post-disaster business assistance is available through an independent coalition of commerce agencies and individuals. Identified as the South Louisiana Recovery Team, an independent group is responding to needs of people impacted by Hurricane Isaac.
South Central Industrial Group Executive Director Jane Arnette is a member of the SLRT and is encouraging business leaders to help one another following Hurricane Isaac or any other disaster.
“It would be really helpful if you could provide a volunteer from your company to assist with answering phones,” Arnette said in an email message. “Also, if your business needs assistance in the aftermath of this storm please contact one of these numbers: (218) 840-5823, (218) 840-5824, (218) 840-5825 or (218)840-5826.”
Those experiencing flooding or structural damage to businesses or homes in Terrebonne Parish may also notify the Terrebonne Parish Emergency Operations Center at (985) 873-6357 or check the parish website at www.tpcg.org.
The Terrebonne Economic Development Authority offers assistance resources and is available at (985) 873-6890 or at www.tpeda.org.
Lafourche Parish residents needing assistance may call the Lafourche Parish EOC in Mathews at (985) 573-7603.
The South Louisiana Economic Council also has resources and may be contacted at (985) 448-4485 or at www.slec.org.
Five distribution sites of emergency food and water will open in at 10 a.m. in Terrebonne Parish. The locations follow:
– Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, 346 Civic Center Blvd.
– Montegut Recreation Center, 107 Recreation Drive
– Ward 7 Community Center, 5006 La. Highway 56, Chauvin
– Grand Caillou Fire Station, 6129 Grand Caillou Road
– Dularge Fire Station, 1767 Bayou Dularge Road
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UPDATE 6:16 p.m. Thursday
STAFF REPORTS
Terrebonne Parish Public Schools are closed through Labor Day, though school administrators, custodians, cafeteria workers and all 12-month employees excluding clerical positions are due back to work Friday.
A nighttime curfew will be enforced in Lafourche Parish between 10 p.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Friday morning.
La. Highway 1 and La. Highway 308 from Lockport to Larose are closed because of downed power poles blocking the roadway. La. Highway 1 south of Golden Meadow is still inundated with water and closed. Burma Road in the St. Charles community is closed due to rising water.
All public boat launches in Lafourche Parish have been closed until further notice.
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UPDATE 3:42 p.m. Thursday
By MIKE NIXON
mike@tri-parishtimes.com
Roof damage from Hurricane Isaac is blamed for an alarm that sounded at Dillard’s Department Store in Southland Mall during the noon hour Thursday, according to the Bayou Cane Fire Protection District.
“We responded to a fire alarm and found a lot of water damage inside the store,” BCFPD Chief Ken Himel said. “That is when we went on the roof and found damage.”
Neither officials from Dillard’s nor Southland Mall were available for comment Thursday afternoon.
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UPDATE: 2:52 p.m. Thursday
By MIKE NIXON
mike@tri-parishtimes.com
Hurricanes can often spawn tornadoes. While none associated with Hurricane Isaac were confirmed in the Tri-Parish region Thursday by the National Weather Service, Carsmiths Automotive business owner Wayne Folse believes tornatic activity is to blame for destruction at his business.
Carsmiths is located at 6178 W. Main St. next to the Bayou Cane Fire Department. While structures next to the auto-repair shop were unharmed, storm damage early Wednesday morning resulted in loss of a roof and collapsed walls at the targeted business.
“It evidently was a tornado that passed through,” Folse said. “I saw [the damage Wednesday] morning when I came up.”
Terrebonne Parish Emergency Management Director Earl Eues said he only had one unconfirmed report of a tornado associated with Isaac and that was in Schriever. There was no conclusive evidence to support the claimed twister. “I don’t know what happened there,” he said of the Carsmiths incident.
Bayou Cane Fire Protection District Chief Ken Himel said two crews were hunkered-down at the fire station during the hurricane and none of his men heard or saw evidence of a tornado. “In fact the sleeping quarters are on that side of our building so somebody would have heard something,” Himel said. “[Carsmiths] is an old building. The wind was out of the north that night and I suspect it caught the [car] bays and took off the roof.”
Folse said although the structure suffered damage no vehicles were harmed. “The roof blew off not in,” he said. “[The building] is old wood, but it would have had to be a tornado the way it blew a rafter on the next house.”
Folse said he intended to begin cleanup during the weekend and be open for business again within September.
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UPDATE: 1:52 p.m. Thursday
STAFF REPORTS
A boil water advisory has been issued in Terrebonne Parish until further notice.
Terrebonne officials lifted the parish-wide curfew at 6 a.m. Tuesday. Lafourche Parish Government has lifted the curfew for all areas between Thibodaux and the Bellevue Bridge in Lockport.
More than 31,500 Lafourche Entergy customers and about 17,500 Entergy customers in Terrebonne were without power on Thursday. Entergy services 42,000 customers in Lafourche and 27,000 customers in Terrebonne.
Lafourche Parish public and private schools are scheduled to reopen Tuesday, after the Labor Day holiday.
Nicholls State University will also resume classes on Tuesday. Residence halls reopen Friday at 10 a.m.
Lafourche Parish Government will open three “points of distribution” of emergency food, water and ice at 3 p.m. Thursday at the following locations:
– Holy Savior Church, 612 Main St., Lockport
– Our Lady Prompt Succor Church, 723 N. Bayou Drive, Golden Meadow
– Lafourche Parish Ag. Center, 101 Texas Ave., Raceland.
The following Terrebonne Parish roads were reported closed:
– La. Highway 24 (Bourg-Larose Highway)
– Woodlawn Ranch Road
– 2400 Block of La. Highway 665, southward
– 5900 Block of Shrimpers Roaw, southward
– Point Barre Road
– La. Highway 55, Humble Canal southward
– La. Highway 315, south of the floodgate
– Island Road
– Liley Porche Circle
– 9200 Block of La. Highway 3011, southward
– 2500 Brady Road, southward
In Lafourche Parish, La. Highway 1 remains inundated and therefore closed. Power poles and lines are impeding traffic along La. Highway 308 between Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport and the KLRZ radio station in Larose.
Trash collection is scheduled to resume its normal route routine on Friday.
Any residents that have experienced damage to their home or business should call the Office of Emergency Preparedness at (985) 873-6357.
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UPDATE: 12:49 p.m. Wednesday
By ERIC BESSON
eric@tri-parishtimes.com
www.twitter.com/tpt_eric
Houma residents saw a morning reprieve from Hurricane Isaac’s wind and rain as the storm’s eye hovered over the city, but tens of thousands remain without power in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.
As of noon on Wednesday, at least 20,000 Terrebonne homes and 32,000 Lafourche home were without power, according to Entergy’s website. Entergy services 27,000 customers in Terrebonne and 42,000 in Lafourche. Tree limbs and blown transformers are the most common sources of outages, officials said.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm’s center, located 10 miles northwest of Houma, is moving northwest at 6 mph. It seemed to stall overnight, its bands inflicting their strongest damage east of Terrebonne Parish. The southern part of the storm is expected to pass through Terrebonne and Lafourche throughout the remainder of today.
Curfews remain in effect indefinitely in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes.
Lafourche Parish, much of which sits on the east side of the storm’s eye, has been under a barrage of wind and rain for nearly 20 hours.
St. Pierre Street in Larose, St. Anthony Street in Mathews and La. Highway 1 between Leeville and Golden Meadow are inundated with water, Lafourche Parish Government spokesman Logan Banks said. Multiple homeowners have reported roof damage in Lafourche, but no injuries or flood damage has been reported.
Lafourche Parish’s public and parochial schools and the Max Charter school are closed through Friday. As of now, Nicholls State University is scheduled to remain closed through Thursday.
The 17th Judicial District courts and the Lafourche Parish Clerk of Court’s office are also closed through Friday.
Terrebonne was largely spared of structural damage through the storm’s first barrage.
Isolated streets have been closed due to fallen trees, but there have been no reports of flooded homes or injuries attributable to the storm, Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government spokesman Doug Bourg said.
All Terrebonne Parish public and private schools are closed until further notice, and classes at Fletcher Technical Community College are cancelled through Thursday.
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Isaac seemed to stall northward once it reached about 75 miles southeast of Houma, its bands pounding central and south Lafourche Parish for several hours over the course of Tuesday evening into early Wednesday morning.
According to National Hurricane Center advisories, from 8 p.m. to midnight, the storm’s eye shifted from 29.0N, 89.6W to 29.0N, 90.0W – only westward movement, leaving Lafourche in the dreaded spot east of the storm’s eyewall.
The midnight NHC advisory, which had the storm 60 miles southeast of Houma, says hurricane-force winds “extend outward up to 60 miles” from the eye.
UPDATE 1:10 a.m.
By Eric Besson
“Isaac has been wobbling, but is moving generally toward the west-northwest near 7 mph,” the advisory reads. “A northwestward motion at a slightly slower speed is expected over the next day or two.”
Isaac’s maximum-sustained winds were around 80 mph, according to the advisory, with “little change in strength” forecast for the morning and “slow weakening” expected after.
Widespread power outages, particularly in Lafourche, couple with the storm’s slow track during sleeping hours, have concerned the parish’s officials. Flooding in the Tri-parish area has not yet been an issue, but that could change over the course of the storm.
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UPDATE: 10:39 p.m. Tuesday
By ERIC BESSON
eric@tri-parishtimes.com
www.twitter.com/tpt_eric
Thousands of Tri-parish residents are without power as Hurricane Isaac bears down on southeastern Louisiana.
Roughly 4,000 Terrebonne and 12,500 Lafourche Entergy customers were without power at 10 p.m., according to the company’s website. Entergy services more than 26,000 Terrebonne customers and more than 40,000 Lafourche customers.
Forecasters are struggling to pinpoint the erratic, confounding storm’s track, but it seems likely that the storm’s eye, or center point, will pass over parts of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes.
Lafourche Parish Government has extended its curfew “until further notice,” parish spokesman Logan Banks said. It was originally scheduled from 7 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Water has begun to inundate La. Highway 1 between Golden Meadow and Leeville, but there were no reports of flooded homes in the parish as of 10 p.m., Banks said. One homeowner on West 79 Street in Cut Off had reported roof damage.
The primary issue in Lafourche were the mass power outages, caused when heavy winds knocked down power lines and transformers, Banks said.
The Tri-Parish Times will continue to publish information throughout its coverage area as it receives it.
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UPDATE: 1:22 p.m. Tuesday
By ERIC BESSON
eric@tri-parishtimes.com
www.twitter.com/tpt_eric
The South Lafourche Levee District has closed the Larose floodgate and the Golden Meadow lock, shutting off the ring levee system in anticipation of Hurricane Isaac, SLLD Executive Director Windell Curole said.
Curole said maritime traffic through the gates has stopped.
Barring unforeseen structural damage, the system is expected to hold up to Isaac’s storm surge, Curole said. Employees will monitor the system and operate pump stations through the night in two 12-hour shifts.
As of midday Tuesday, Curole said he was mainly concerned with wind gusts blowing down trees and power lines that would block roadways and access to the pump stations.
In other news, Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government has implemented a curfew from 8 p.m. Tuesday night until 6 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Lafourche Parish Government is under curfew from 7 p.m. tonight until 6 a.m. tomorrow. Lafourche also has announced that garbage collection has been suspended until Hurricane Isaac “is no longer a threat.”
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UPDATE: 10:49 a.m. Tuesday
By ERIC BESSON
eric@tri-parishtimes.com
Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph has invoked a parish-wide curfew spanning from 7 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday in anticipation of Tropical Storm Isaac.
Sheriff Craig Webre said extra deputies will be on detail and anyone in violation of the curfew will be stopped and questioned.
Business owners are being asked to “strongly consider” closing their businesses to allow employees safe travel home, parish spokesman Logan Banks said.
The parish has been placed under a tornado watch and a hurricane warning. Winds are expected to gust around 1 p.m., and Isaac is expected to dump heavy rain on the parish over the course of the next 24 to 36 hours.
The parish has also closed the Valentine, Cote Blanche and Galliano pontoon bridges spanning Bayou Lafourche to automobile traffic until further notice. Marine traffic is not affected by the closure.
The Tri-Parish Times will continue to post updates throughout the storm.
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UPDATE: 6:40 p.m.
Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes have canceled school in lieu of Tropical Storm Isaac.
Lafourche Parish has canceled school Monday-Wednesday in lieu of the storm. Terrebonne is only canceled for Monday at this point, but will make a decision about the rest of the week today.
The decision comes after the area was placed under a hurricane warning by the National Hurricane Center.
Stay tuned for further updates or visit www.facebook.com/triparishtimes.
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UPDATE: 2:24 p.m.
Tropical Storm Isaac is in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Tri-parish area is now officially under a Hurricane Watch.
The National Weather Service’s 1 p.m. advisory Sunday afternoon placed our area on alert, as the storm approaches the Gulf Coast.
Isaac, with maximum-sustained winds of 60 mph, is moving west-northwest at a brisk 18 mph clip.
Computer models are not in compliance with the storm’s landfall destination.
Some models take the storm on a more westward path toward Louisiana. Others push the storm into the Eastern Gulf Coast.
Stay tuned for further updates.
Although unconfirmed by officials, the owner of Carsmiths Automotive Service at 6178 W. Main St. contends tornado-like winds associated with Hurricane Isaac destroyed his business when storm stalled over Houma Wednesday.
