Thursday, September 11, 2008

Hurricane Ike Statement #2

ST. CHARLES PARISH COULD FACE FLOODING COMPARABLE TO 1998's TROPICAL STORM FRANCES

Hurricane Ike Statement #2 - 5:30 p.m. 9/11/08

Residents of St. Charles Parish should prepare to see flooding similar to that of Tropical Storm Frances in 1998, St. Charles Parish EOC Director Tab Troxler said this afternoon.

Frances pushed 4.5 feet of storm surge into St. Charles Parish, which put water onto streets in Luling's Willowdale Subdivision and tested the levees surrounding the communities of Des Allemands and Bayou Gauche. Frances also made landfall in Texas.

Ike, which is now located 215 miles due south of the mouth of the Mississippi River, could bring 3 to 5 feet of storm surge on the West Bank of St. Charles Parish. Tides have already brought water levels to 2 feet above normal. Winds will push water towards the coast for about 18 to 20 hours in total. Ike's full impact will not be known until early Saturday, Troxler said.

The parish remains under a tropical storm warning and coastal flood warning.

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.

Sanbags are now available at Bayou Gauche and under the bridge in Des Allemands. More locations may be opened tomorrow if needed.

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.

Wind gusts at the St. Charles Parish courthouse today reached 47 mph. The high winds have already caused intermittent power outages in Norco and the Mimosa and Coronado Park areas of Luling. Entergy says power should be restored quickly in these areas.

Winds of over 40 mph will arrive overnight across the parish, with the heaviest winds coming in around daybreak Friday. Rainfall totals are expected to be relatively low, at 1 to 2 inches.

Additionally, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office is asking that unecessary travel be avoided on Friday due to tropical storm force winds.

Bayou Gauche Road on the island has been barricaded by DOTD. Water is already covering the road in some areas. If you do not live along this road, we are recommending that you do NOT travel on it.

St. Charles Parish government offices will open tomorrow for regular hours.

Public Schools in St. Charles Parish have been cancelled Friday.

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

14 comments:

AllisonPrendergast said...

When are the water levels expected to be highest? Overnight tonight or around daybreak Friday in conjunction with the highest winds?
Or will it be even after the storm has passed as was expected with Gustav?

Also, I thought the high water with Francis in the Willowdale/ Willowridge area was due to a breech of the 3-4' ring levee behind the development. What is the state of this levee? Has the Corps of Engineers even allowed parish officials to expect it post-Katrina?

Again, thank you very much for this great information. It is much appreciated!

Anonymous said...

when will a decision be made for the school closing?

St. Charles Parish said...

We just got word public schools will be closed Friday.

Anonymous said...

The repeated use of Bayou Gauche and Bayou Gauche Rd can be confusing to some. The areas of Green Acres, Beau Place and Bayou Estates are all often referred to as Bayou Gauche.

Are the flood concerns only for the island or are the other areas I mentioned also of concern.

NOLA5678 School has been canceled. Just got the Connect Ed message.

bayougauchecrystal said...

I have the same question as to which part of Bayou Gauche are you talking about? I live on Luke Dr in Legend Oaks, and as far as I know there are no barricades blocking the main Highway. Please get a bit more specific!

Anonymous said...

is there any word on catholic schools in destrehan ?

Anonymous said...

BayouGaucheCrystal I am sure that the road is barricaded at the entrance to the island. There is water over the road there already.

Was your house built before the new elevation or after the new elevations? If you are one of the homes that are 6 ft above street level I would think that you would be more than ok. There maybe some street flooding, but I doubt your house would flood.

bayougauchecrystal said...

FELICIA0012 No I am not one of the houses 6 feet above, lol. I would feel great then. We were the first house back here on Luke St in the new section so we have a normal slab elevation. I was just wondering how bad would the water get and if it would cover the upper part of the road, just concerned have 3 small kids and hate to have to swim them out, lol.

PinkCadi said...

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! for this information website!!!

While evacuated for Hurricane Gustav, it was great to stay informed by accessing this website online and via my cell phone.


During Katrina, while we were evacuated, we felt so isolated not being able to get news specific to our parish. Thank you for having this in place! We appreciate ALL parish officials, local government, school adminstration & law enforcement for watching out for our best interest and safety!

~Lori

St. Charles Parish said...

Bayou Gauche Road on the island fronting the Bayou has been barricaded.

Anonymous said...

although this is for st. charles parish, does anyone know if Archbishop Chapelle High is closed tomorrow

trout328 said...

Is there still a curfew in St. Charles Parish?

St. Charles Parish said...

Curfew is no longer in effect: http://stcharlesgov.blogspot.com/2008/09/curfew-no-longer-in-effect.html

St. Charles Parish said...

Allison - We are expecting the water levels to be highest Saturday when the winds shift and are coming out of the south. So technically this will be when the storm is making landfall in Texas. Right now all the water is being piled up on eastern-facing shores.

As for the levee, we know we still have vulnerabilities there, and the levee is as low as 2 feet in some areas.

Again, we are not expecting water to get into homes at this time in Luling, but there will possibly be a repeat of the street flooding after Frances in the back of Willowdale / Willowridge.