| All,
Welcome back to those who have returned, and for those who are still away,
here is an update.
Normalcy is returning. Here's what Gene and I have learned this morning,
Wednesday, Sept. 3:
Re-entry: As of 6 a.m. this morning, St. Tammany Parish residents may come
home at any time. The curfew has been lifted.
Interstates: Gene and I looked at I-12 and I-59 this morning; neither was
particularly crowded at the time. However, as we returned on I-12, to get
off on I-10 approaching the Gause Blvd. exit, all three lanes were stopped.
There are lines of people wanting to re-enter Orleans Parish and parishes
across the lake. There is apparently a huge backup to cross the Twin Spans,
and it seems to stretch all the way up to the Gause exit. Mayor Ray Nagin
has re-opened Orleans Parish as of this morning and that will increase the
traffic flow through our Parish.
Local roads: Even with lots of returning evacuees, and lost residents of
various southshore parishes wandering through Slidell, the traffic in
Slidell isn't too bad. More stoplights are working than yesterday; but not
all yet.
Gasoline: Several stations are pumping. But certainly not all. Some have
only higher grades, being out of other grades.
Electricity: CLECO is doing better. We hear now that 64% of the parish has
power. Better than yesterday, when we were told officially that 90% of the
parish is without power. We've heard that Turtle Creek, Magnolia Forest,
Forest Ridge all have power now. Oak Grove may still be in the dark, and
other areas off N. Robert Rd. On the parish government website, CLECO aims
to have power restored by "Friday afternoon." I spoke with a "Times-
Picayune" reporter this morning, who told me that CLECO is saying it will
be "3 to 5 days" until all power is restored in St. Tammany Parish. CLECO
and WST trucks are out everywhere. In addition, while on the interstate, we
noted long lines of cherry-pickers and assorted equipment, coming from
Tennessee, Arkansas and even Kentucky headed to the metropolitan area.
Northshore Mall is again a staging area of emergency response vehicles and
equipment.
"Boil Water" restrictions: Several areas in the parish, mostly on the
western side, are under orders to boil water. The water has to be held at a
rapid boil for 10 minutes, or use bottled water until the all-clear. The
list included areas such as: Audubon, St. Joe Estates, "Timberlane" (could
this be "Timberlake"?), Village of Guthrie, Pirates' Harbor (on Hwy. 433),
The Meadows, Bradford Place, and Bel Air on the eastern side of the parish.
Greenleaves, Meadowbrook, Cherry Creek, The Timbers, Timber Creek, Oak
Island, The Reserve, and a few others we didn't recognize, which must also
be on the western side of the parish. These are listed on the parish
government website.
Tornadoes -- Lots of watches and warnings, especially all day yesterday. A
tornado hit some businesses in Abita Springs, and then a tornado aimed at
Tulane, but veered into a group of near-by businesses in Westwego. A few
minutes later, two were sighted in Bush and Sun. One was being tracked near
Amite. Yesterday morning I went to my son's house on Airport Rd. to empty
his refrigerator (what's a mother for?) and saw a funnel cloud moving toward
Lacombe, among other dark storm clouds. ( I left, and Gene and I went there
to empty it today.)
Flooding in Slidell -- has been mostly in the Hwy 433 area, Carr Drive, Palm
Lake, Coin de Lestin and Bayou Liberty area. There have been pockets of high
water and some street flooding in many other locations, such as Indian
Village Rd and the entrance to Old River Road. Fortunately, we haven't heard
of much in the way of house flooding.
Flooding in the parish -- Just yesterday afternoon, parts of Covington had
to be suddenly evacuated, as the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte Rivers were
abnormally high, and rising. Sheriff Jack Strain said on the noon news
that the Abita River and the Pearl River were also threatening those areas,
Gene has been able to ascertain from the Parish Engineering Dept. that the
Pearl River isn't a problem as of last night.. Madisonville has had high
water problems, as has the Mandeville Lakefront.
FEMA: FEMA as of this morning has not declared us a disaster area. However,
President Kevin Davis has spoken to Gov. Jindal about this, and this may
change. If not, neither food nor bottled water will be distributed in St.
Tammany Parish (no MRE's!) . We have been told that the Red Cross will
distribute food and water "in low lying areas only" within the parish. We
have heard nothing about the availability of blue tarps if needed.
Security: On TV Sheriff Jack Strain said as of yesterday there had been "5
arrests, all for looting or theft." As we've driven around, we've seen city,
parish and state police vehicles everywhere.
Schools: I spoke with Supt. Gayle Sloan yesterday afternoon, and she said
as far as had been reported to her by the principals, no school in St.
Tammany had suffered much in the way of damage. The main reason we can't
open schools until Monday has been the absence of electric power. Many of
the schools didn't have power as of yesterday, and of course lots of
subdivisions.
Regular trash pick-up: We are trying to find out about when this will
return. One person reported that regular pick-up will begin tomorrow for
Coastal. We'll put our trash can out and find out...
Storm debris pick-up: Gene is trying to get information on this. I didn't
see anything on the parish website; they may be waiting on a re-evaluation
from FEMA.
Hospitals in St. Tammany: As of late yesterday, it was announced that
Slidell Memorial, Louisiana Heart Hospital, St. Tammany Hospital and
Lakeview Regional are all off generator power. That's good news. Even with
generator power, not all services are available.
Sewerage in Slidell -- As of late last night on the news, the City of
Slidell was still without functioning sewerage lines and stations. They are
working on that and it may be resolved. Several of you wrote about hearing
this on TV. This has not affected the areas outside the city limits.
Groceries: We hear that Rouse's is open, and Wal-Mart may be open for
limited hours.
Shelters: Some of the schools being used as shelters are emptying today.
National "Gustav" coverage of our area: For those of you still evacuated,
Channel 6, WDSU-TV announced yesterday that it is streaming on the internet,
and has live feed on Direct TV channel 361. We received Monday's Times
Picayune today and you can read it on NOLA.com.
Gene will head up to the parish government office today, where Gov. Bobby
Jindal will be paying a visit. He hopes to get an update during his trip
there about the restoration of electric power, among other things.
In the meantime, there is lots of information available at:
Parish government website: www.stpgov.org
School board website: www.stpsb.org
Gene will give you an update when he returns from Covington this afternoon.
Soon there won't be need for updates from us!
Call us if you have more news to share, or have other questions to ask,
Gene B. and Mary K.
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