Thursday, September 11, 2008

Hurricane Ike Statement #1

HURRICANE IKE PRESENTS STORM SURGE CONCERNS IN ST. CHARLES PARISH

Hurricane Ike Statement #1 - 1:30 p.m. Sept. 11, 2008

Though Hurricane Ike is currently located approximately 220 miles South of the mouth of Mississippi River and projected to make landfall near Houston, Texas, St. Charles Parish is preparing for the threat of storm surge flooding.

St. Charles Parish is now under a tropical storm warning. This means tropical storm conditions are expected within the next 24 hours. A coastal storm surge of 5 to 7 feet is expected on the West Bank, with 1 to 2 inches of rainfall expected across the parish through Sunday evening. Sustained winds of 25 to 30 mph can be expected, as well as gusts of up to 45 mph.

The parish is also under a coastal flood warning until 6 p.m. Friday.

Parish President V.J. St. Pierre Jr. this morning signed an emergency declaration for the parish. St. Pierre and officials with the St. Charles Parish Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness are monitoring Ike's progress, and work has begun to shore up vulnerable areas along the Sunset Drainage District Levee on the West Bank. Flood control tubes remain in place in this area.

Due to the potential of rising water, isolated evacuations in areas south of Highway 90 may be necessary if conditions exist for an imminent flood. 

The St. Charles Parish Emergency Operations Center has been activated under alert status.

Additionally, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office is asking that local traffic on FRIDAY be restricted to necessary travel only because of dangerous tropical storm force winds.

St. Charles Parish residents are urged to stay tuned to Cable Channel 6, www.stcharlesgov.net and 1370 AM for further updates.

14 comments:

al said...

I hope that our parish president and public officials will have more of a presence during Ike. Why was there no information from St. Charles during Gustav when every other parish from here to Egypt was on the radio and TV? St. Charles parish residents need information in times of crisis. Goverment access channels and websites don't work without power. VJ show your pretty face!

St. Charles Parish said...

Al - We had reporters from WWL-TV and radio imbedded in EOC throughout Gustav. Myself, Tab and V.J. did COUNTLESS interviews with every local news channel and even some in other cities.

All of our information was sent to each local news channel every time something new came out. They all know the Web site, were able to access it, and were kept very up-to-date.

That's about all we can do. I am frustrated that the media overlooked us.

al said...

All I know is that for 6 days all we did was listen to the radio and watch all the news channels and St. Charles parish was nowhere to be found except for the one time we heard Tab. I find it amazing that St.Charles parish was snubbed by the media.
Al

St. Charles Parish said...

Also, you can sign up for direct updates from the parish to your cell phone... During storm events we usually send out 2 per day... No media necessary! :)

https://portal.blackboardconnectcty.com/welcome.aspx?eiid=1207B6088C3478A36C7B

-Renee

AllisonPrendergast said...

Is the EOC concerned about flooding all along the west bank or only in the Sunset Drainage District?

What about in Luling and Ama near the Diversion and Lakes Cataoutche/ Salvador?

I'm especially concerned about the neighborhoods of Lagatutta, Mimosa Park, Lakewood, Davis/Willowdale/ Willowridge since there is no interior levee protecting us from tidal surge from the Barataria Basin.

And if we have to be evacuated where would we go?

Thanks. I do appreciate all of the info you guys shared on this website throughout Gustav.

Allison Prendergast

St. Charles Parish said...

We are mainly concerned about Sunset Drainage because they are so close to open water. We don't anticipate any problems elsewhere.

byulvn said...

When you say "Sunset Drainage", what areas are you talking about? I live on the drainage canal in Shamrock, should I evacuate??

meltw said...

The media will go where the drama is in a situation like this. There were relatively minor problems in St. Charles parish so the media went elsewhere to get their story. Because your parish officials were handling the situation so well the media didn't have a story in St. Charles Parish. Because your public works dept was filling sand bags and putting up tubes and blocking water from entering the parish the media didn't have a flood story in St. Charles Parish. Because your police were patrolling the streets their was relatively no crime to report. And when St. Charles Parish had one of the FIRST water and ice distribution centers open in the entire region hundreds came from SURROUNDING parishes ( I guess they heard it on the news...I know I did) .THAT'S when the media came to tell that story of long lines....
I heeded the warnings of the parish officials and evacuated to MS. I found all the information I could have ever wanted on the website. And I am grateful to all who worked to save our parish. And I'm sure they won't have time to see this because they are all back at work right now dealing with the possible effects of IKE. Even if my home floods tomorrow I know the parish officials did everything they could to prevent it...

Anonymous said...

will st. charles parish schools be open tomorrow

tigers1 said...

Do you anticipate closing the Hale Boggs Bridge because of high wind tonight or Friday?

St. Charles Parish said...

Sunset Drainage District levees surround Bayou Gauche and Des Allemands... We are still waiting on word from the school system regarding closings... the Hale Boggs bridge will not close but please understand that tropical storm force winds make the bridge VERY dangerous to travel.

Anonymous said...

do you have any idea of when you'll be aware of any possible school closings in our area

BayouMaMa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
BayouMaMa said...

yes...school will be closed...it just said so on channel 6 (St. Charles Parish Government channel)