Tri-parishes dodges late storm as Ida strikes Gulf Coast region

Lafourche Parish was under a state of emergency beginning at 7 a.m. Monday in response to Hurricane Ida, but Terrebonne Parish was taking fewer actions because of the storm.

Ida was expected to hit the Florida panhandle early Tuesday as of press time.

“We’re taking minimal protection measures,” said Terrebonne Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness Director Earl Eues.

Gov. Bobby Jindal called for voluntary evacuations in Lafourche Parish Monday. None were called by local officials in Lafourche except for voluntary evacuations at Port Fourchon beginning Sunday, said parish public information officer Brennan Matherne.

However, all public and private schools were closed Monday in Lafourche. The registrar of voters and clerk of court offices and state courts in the parish were shut down Monday also. Lafourche schools reopened Tuesday.

Nicholls State University was monitoring the situation but had not cancelled classes.

Parish officials’ main concern was water on roads because of the storm, especially in Leeville and other areas outside of the hurricane levee protection system, Matherne said. But forecasts were showing Hurricane Ida tracking farther east away from Louisiana during Monday, easing concerns, he said.

Floodgates at Golden Meadow were closed but opened for vessels to pass. Floodgates at Larose were opening every two to three hours for boats, Matherne said.

The parish was receiving few requests for sandbags. “Most houses south of the levee are on pilings,” he said.

City of Thibodaux offices were open Monday.

Mayor Charles Caillouet asked residents to clear the area around homes of items that could become projectiles in windy weather.

In a release, Public Works Director Eric Faucheaux said, “We are preparing for the inclement weather by clearing area catch basins, clearing major drainage areas, closely monitoring the city’s forty sewer lift stations and sewer reservoir levels, checking backup generators and increasing the water level in the Adley Landry Reservoir.”

Terrebonne Parish had been anticipating receiving three to five inches of rain from Ida but expected to see less because of the storm’s track, Eues said.

The parish had not called a state of emergency. All government offices and schools in Terrebonne were open Monday.

“The history shows that we are safer with storms that pass to the right of us,” said Schools Superintendent Philip Martin.

Schools in southern Terrebonne were not experiencing flooding on Monday and the school district did not anticipate any closures, he said.

“That’s not our intention at this point in time, but if anything changes we’ll close them in a heartbeat,” Martin said. “If there’s any uncertainty we will err on the side of caution, but right now we’re comfortable with the way the storm is tracking.”

Terrebonne still could experience tides higher than three feet above normal because of the storm, “but that’s generous,” Eues said.

“We’re not even in a tropical storm wind advisory,” he said.

All flood control structures operated by the Terrebonne Levee District were closed Monday.

By noon, the levee district had opened the Bayou Terrebonne and Little Caillou floodgates because of lower water levels. The Humble Canal Auxiliary Structure remained closed. The floodgates would be shut again if conditions deteriorated, said levee district administrative manager Angela Rains.

Sandbags were available at the Montegut Fire Station, main Little Caillou Fire Station, Pointe aux Chenes Fire Station, Bobtown Bridge Fire Station, and the former location of the fire station in Bayou Dularge near the Falgout Canal Bridge.

On Sunday and Monday, Terrebonne Parish officials and emergency responders participated in a conference call with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to prepare for Ida.

The parish had been monitoring the storm since Friday, Eues said.

Port Fourchon was executing Phase Two of its hurricane preparedness plan in response to Ida, said Greater Lafourche Port Commission Executive Director Ted Falgout.

Crews were sent to the port to tie objects down and to remove items subject to flooding from high tides.

“Basically, they start to secure stuff,” Falgout said.

Harbor police at the port have extra personnel on duty to look for water on roadways, specifically on La. Highway 1 south of the floodgates, he said.

Water was expected over roads in Leeville beginning Monday night.

Few employees at the port evacuated because of the storm, with most waiting until Monday to decide, Falgout said. Some personnel offshore had come in, “but no major exodus,” he said.

“The port is jam packed with ships,” he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard staged a search and rescue 25 miles south of Fourchon, said Petty Officer Third Class Tom Atkinson. A lift boat tied to an oil rig broke away, stranding two workers on a rig owned by Chevron.