[StBernard] UPDATE: TASK FORCE PELICAN

[Westley Annis]

UPDATE: TASK FORCE PELICAN

-- Monday - September 26, 2005 --

-- 11:00 AM-- 

 

State of Louisiana

 

·        This is Day 27 since Hurricane Katrina made landfall and Day 2
since Hurricane Rita made landfall.  

 

·        Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco surveyed the damage caused by
Hurricane Rita on an aerial fly over yesterday.

o       Governor Blanco urged residents of South Louisiana to remain patient
and to not begin returning home yet.  

 

Governor Blanco also announced a proposal the Louisiana Department of
Transportations and Development submitted to President Bush to build
improved transportation, levee and hurricane protection systems for South
Louisiana.  
 

Louisiana has asked Congress for a total of $31.7 billion. 
 

$11.5 billion will be used for transportation projects to: 
·        Replace the I-10 Twin Spans between New Orleans and Slidell

·        Repair Katrina damage to Louisiana's ports and airports

·        Complete I-49 South, a critical evacuation route

·        Expand I-10 between New Orleans & Baton Rouge, a critical
evacuation route

·        Upgrade LA 1 from Golden Meadow to Port Fourchon, a critical
evacuation route and the only highway serving a major port

·        Build other critical infrastructures to address population and
traffic increases in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Hammond and the North Shore

 

o       $20.2 billion will be used for key Hurricane Protection Projects,
which include levee and/ or pump system improvements:


>From Morganza to the Gulf of Mexico 

Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans 
The North and West Shores of Lake Pontchartrain 
The Westbank of the Mississippi River in New Orleans 

>From New Orleans to Venice 

The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal 
The Lower Atchafalaya Basin 
 

Governor Blanco  also issued a number of Executive Orders: 
KBB 2005-44- grants emergency procedures for DOTD 
KBB 2005-45- declares a suspension of deadlines of assessors and tax
collectors; 
KBB 2005-46- which grants an extension of the Executive Order NO. KBB
2005-34 
KBB 2005-47- which grants an extension of Executive Order NO. KBB 2005-33 
KBB 2005-48- which grants an extension of Executive Order NO. KBB 2005-32 
 

The full texts of the Executive Orders are available on the Internet at
http://www.gov.state.la.us/2005excecutiveorders.asp 
 

National Guard 

 

To date, there are nearly 18,000 National Guard soldiers on the ground under
the command of Governor Blanco. 
To date, approximately 4,000 National Guard troops have been dedicated to
Task Force Rita.  
 

National Guard troops are working diligently to respond to the needs of
citizens affected by Hurricane Katrina and those affected by Hurricane Rita.

 
 

Louisiana Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness 


Mandatory Evacuation Orders are still in effect for 10 Southwest Louisiana
Parishes. 
Parish residents are advised NOT to return to these areas until advised
otherwise. 
These parishes include: 
ALL of Calcasieu Parish 
ALL of Cameron Parish 
ALL of Jefferson Davis Parish 
PARTS of Vermilion Parish (low lying areas south of LA 14) 
PARTS of St. Mary Parish (below the Intercoastal Waterway) 
PARTS of Acadia Parish (South of LA 92) 
PARTS of Iberia Parish (below US Highway 90) 
PARTS of Iberville Parish (mobile homes only) 
PARTS of Jefferson Parish (Lafite, Crown Port, Barrataria & Grand Isle) 
PARTS of Lafourche Parish (South of Leon Theriot flood gates) 
 

As of 9:00 am today, 48 parishes have declared States of Emergency due to
effects of Hurricane Rita.  These parishes include: 
 

Vermillion
 Jefferson Davis
 Tensas
 
Lafayette
 Cameron
 St James
 
Iberia
 Sabine
 Calcasieu
 
Vernon
 Natchitoches
 St. Mary
 
Caddo
 Bossier
 Ouachita
 
Jefferson
 Acadia
 Allen
 
East Baton Rouge
 Franklin
 St. Landry
 
Tangipahoa
 Rapides
 Livingston
 
Orleans
 Terrebonne
 Evangeline
 
Beauregard
 Richland
 West Baton Rouge
 
Plaquemines
 Winn
 Morehouse
 
Avoyelles
 Iberville
 Concordia
 
East Carroll
 West Feliciana
 Union
 
West Carroll
 Pointe Coupee
 Jackson
 
Madison 
 Red River
 Caldwell
 
Catahoula
 Ascension
 Desoto
 

Summary of information reported to LOHSEP by Parish OEP officials, as of 7
am Sunday, September 26, 2005: 
 

ACADIA

95% of the residents in the City of Rayne are without electrical power 
Only 5% of the residents in the City of Crowley have electrical power 
The City of Crowley has no water or sewerage services 
The Parish jail does not have water 
 

CALCASIEU 

Lake Charles experienced a 10ft. storm surge 
The CBD adjacent to the lake flooded with about 2ft. of water in the
Hibernia Bank building 
I-10 is open, however all exits in Calcasieu Parish are closed preventing
evacuees from returning to the parish 
 

CAMERON 

·    There is 5ft. of water over LA Hwy 82

·    The City of Cameron has been reduced to a debris field

·    The Northern half of the parish is heavily damaged

·    The Southern half of the parish remains underwater, preventing damage
assessment teams from entering the area

 

IBERIA

Search and Rescue efforts are on-going 
Assets are being deployed 
The City of Delcombre is flooded 
60% of parish is without electrical power; however, 70% of the main city has
power 
 

IBERVILLE

30% of the Parish is without electrical power 
Evacuees are starting to leave the shelters 
 

JEFFERSON DAVIS

100% electrical power outage 
Jennings police and jail roofs off 
Heavy roof damage to municipal buildings in Jennings 
Arrest for looting have been made in Jennings 
 

LAFAYETTE

·    Had a 8PM to 6AM curfew 

·    Lafayette suffered moderate property damage

·    Lafayette is a major location for evacuation shelters

·    Need cots for evacuees (requested on 8/28, but never received -
urgently needed)

 

 

ST. MARTIN

·        Breaux Bridge without electrical power

65% of the Parish is without electrical power 
Will accept looters from Jefferson Davis in the St. Martin prison 
 

LOWER ST. MARTIN 

Without electrical power 
 

ST. MARY - not online

 

VERMILLION

150 people rescued yesterday 
All power below LA 14 is out 
Extreme property damage and flooding south of LA Hwy 14 
On Saturday, 24 Sep 05 150 people were rescued from flooded homes by boat or
helicopter 
75% of the Parish is without electrical power 
 

 

Department of Health and Hospitals

 

The Department of Health and Hospitals - Office of Public Health will soon
begin providing flu vaccines to people in shelters across the state.  To
date, vaccines have been given to more than 8,000 shelter residents and
shelter workers. 
 

A national toll-free number is available for families whose loved ones may
have perished during Hurricane Katrina. Concerned relatives, who are unable
to find a missing loved one and fear the worst, should call the Find Family
National Call Center at 1-866-326-9393. This is the nationwide collection
point and official coordination center for information on persons missing
from the storm.  Family members can phone this number 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week. Officials remind callers this number is specifically for those
concerned that a loved one may be deceased. 
 

The Department of Health and Hospitals urges residents to use generators
safely.   In the past week alone, DHH has been alerted to several cases of
carbon monoxide poisoning due to the improper use of generators. Because
power outages remain throughout south Louisiana, generators continue to
remain in use, and the dangers remain. Information about the safe use of
generators can be found on the DHH Web site, www.dhhemergencynews.com. 
 

The Department of Health and Hospitals - Office of Mental Health is urging
all displaced employees report for work. Mental health staff is needed to
address Louisiana's critical mental health needs resulting from hurricanes
Katrina and Rita. The Office of Mental Health is attempting reopen South
East Louisiana State Hospital, and all available staff are needed to reopen
the hospital and to provide other critical mental health services.

Employees of the Office of Mental Health who are not now working at a OMH
clinic or hospital should contact the office at 1-225-342-2540 as soon as
possible. 
 

 

Department of Transportation & Development

 

DOTD released details on Sunday of an appropriations request to Congress for
transportation and infrastructure needs as a result of Katrina. 
 

The total of $31.7 billion includes more than $20 billion in
repairs/upgrades to hurricane protection levees. 
 

It also includes about $11 billion to repair and replace roads and bridges,
fix ports, relieve traffic problems caused by evacuations to other
communities, meet anticipated future needs and address impact on planned
projects. 
 

DOTD crews are clearing roads in Southwest Louisiana that were affected by
Rita and continuing to make damage assessments. 
 

Work is expected to continue this week on the I-10 Twin Spans repair, as
soon as the water level drops in Lake Pontchartrain. 
Work was suspended Friday as Rita approached land. 
 

 

Department of Environmental Quality

 

Recon and assessment work continues in the Lake Charles area. 
Several major facilities, like PPG and ConocoPhillips, were visited
yesterday. 
No major problems were found during Sunday's inspections and over flights. 
 

7 of 25 major wastewater sewage treatment plants in the areas severely
affected by Hurricane Katrina are not operational.  
They are either still under water or were destroyed. 
 

Wastewater treatment plant inspections continue in St. Tammany and
Terrebonne parishes. 
 

DEQ sampling teams will be collecting water samples from outfall water and
flood water in the New Orleans area. 
 

·        DEQ sampling teams will also be taking sediment samples in Orleans
and St. Bernard Parishes.

 

·        Water samples will also be taken from Duncan and Suburban canals in
New Orleans, Tchefuncta and Tangipahoa River and the Causeway Crossovers.

 

 

Division of Administration

 

ALL state offices in 3 parishes will reopen Wednesday, September 28, 2005. 
These parishes include: Lafayette, Rapides and St. Landry. 
 

In addition, state offices in the portions of Lafourche and Jefferson
parishes which lie below highway 90 will be closed until Wednesday September
28th, 2005. 
 

State offices in 16 parishes in will remain closed until Monday, October 3,
2005.    
These parishes include: Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron,
Jefferson Davis, Iberia, Vermilion, St. Mary, Lower St. Martin, Red River,
Terrebonne, Sabine, Natchitoches, Vernon and Desoto. 
 

·        Commissioner LeBlanc advised that all personnel can be called back
to work, regardless of these closures, at the discretion of their
supervisors. 

 

·        He also urged state employees to monitor their local media for
updates and to stay informed by periodically calling the state office work
status hotline numbers. 

o       The work status hotline numbers are: 1-800-360-9660 and
225-342-0498.

 

 

Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries

 

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has received 184 rescue
requests to date at its operations center in the Office of Homeland Security
and Emergency Preparedness.  
Agents and biologists have resolved all requests except 26, which were
determined to be land rescues.  
Those were passed to local authorities.  
 

In addition, agents and biologists have executed rescues of opportunity --
those that were not called in to the operations center.  
All rescues are logged by the rescuers, but a total is not currently
available. 
 

Waters are receding in most areas and rescue requests are dwindling.  
·        LDWF fisheries biologist Mike Wood transported LA DOTD personnel
around Cameron Parish to inspect roads today.

 

 

Department of Natural Resources

 

·        Access to areas impacted by Hurricane Rita is a problem for oil and
gas industry emergency responders and repair crews.  

o             Because these companies must bring in a large number of
responders and repair crews, the issuance of a single pass on an individual
basis is retarding response efforts.  

o             Many roads in SW Louisiana are impassable.  

o             Access to remote areas is very, very difficult.

 

·         Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) has suspended offshore
operations due to power outages.

 

The Mineral Management Services (MMS) is reporting in a preliminary
assessment that the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) platforms seem to have
suffered little damage from Hurricane Rita.  However, the platforms remain
shut-in as a result of both hurricanes.  
 

The Department of Energy is reporting that the Lake Charles and Trunkline
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities are reported shut down. 
 

7 0f 7 major refineries in Southwest Louisiana were shut down, as of 7:00 pm
Saturday. 
These refineries include: Citgo, ConocoPhilips, Calcasieu, ExxonMobil, Shell
(Motiva), Total and Valero.  
The refineries are being assessed for damage.  Thus far, 3 of 7 have been
assessed, only one of which has reported "significant damage" 
 

 

Louisiana Colleges & Universities

 

The McNeese State University Campus (Lake Charles) is secured and closed to
all personnel. 
McNeese will be closed until Wed Sept 28, 2005. 
 

UL-Lafayette plans to resume operations and classes on Tuesday, September
27, 2005. 
The administration will rework the class schedule for the remainder of the
fall semester. 
 

Fletcher Technical Community College (Houma) will not resume classes or
office operations on Monday, September 26th.  
The current plan is to resume normal operations on Tuesday, September 27th. 
 

·        Louisiana Community & Technical College System announced the
following: 

o       Closed Indefinitely:  SOWELA Technical Community College (Lake
Charles)

 

o       Will resume classes and operations, Monday, Sept. 26:

§         Baton Rouge Community College (Baton Rouge) 

§         River Parishes Community College (Sorrento)

§         Louisiana Technical College

·        District 3: Ascension, Lafourche, River Parishes, and Young
Memorial campuses

·        District 8: Bastrop, Delta-Ouachita, North Central, Northeast
Louisiana, Ruston, and Tallulah campuses

 

 

o       Will resume classes and operations, Tuesday, Sept. 27:  

§         South Louisiana Community College (Lafayette)

§         L.E. Fletcher Technical Community College (Houma)

§         Bossier Parish Community College (Bossier) 

§         Louisiana Technical College:

·        District 2: Baton Rouge, Florida Parishes, Folkes, Hammond Area,
Jumonville Memorial, and Westside campuses

·        District 4: Acadian, Charles B. Coreil, Evangeline, Gulf Area, and
Lafayette campuses

·        District 6: Avoyelles, Huey P. Long, Lamar Salter, and Oakdale
campuses

·        District 7: Mansfield, Natchitoches, Northwest, Sabine Valley, and
Shreveport-Bossier campuses

 

o       For additional information and updates, please visit the Louisiana
Community and Technical College System's Web site at www.lctcs.net, call the
LCTCS Hurricane Call Center at 1-866-310-1586, or stay informed through the
local news media.

 

 

Louisiana Department of Education

 

DOE continues its efforts to assist school districts impacted by Hurricane
Katrina and is also preparing to assist any school district impacted by
Hurricane Rita. 
 

DOE is coordinating and scheduling staff for the Education desk at the state
Office of Emergency Preparedness 24 hours, 7 days a week, until otherwise
notified. 
 

Every school district in the state was assigned a cabinet level contact
person within the Department of Education after Hurricane Katrina, and we
will attempt to remain in contact with our "buddy districts" for as long as
possible as Hurricane Rita continues to affect the state.  
 

The Department of Education will assess the impact of Hurricane Rita on our
local districts as soon as communication can be established.  
 

 

Department of Labor

 

Department of Labor continues to get Katrina-related Unemployment Insurance
and Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits to Louisiana citizens. 
So far the department has delivered UI and DUA benefits to more than 150,000
persons affected by Katrina. 
 

The Labor Department is preparing for benefits claims to be filed in the
aftermath of Hurricane Rita. 
 

 

 

 

Department of Social Services
 

Residents of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, Plaquemines and St. Tammany
parishes may continue to apply for emergency food stamp benefits through
Sept. 29. 
Applicants from these parishes, as well as Washington Parish, who already
have emergency food stamp benefits, will continue to receive benefits
through the month of October. 
 

Displaced citizens may use Disaster Food Stamp Benefits in any state in the
nation. 
For more information about the program and other social services needs, DSS
is offering a toll-free hotline at 1 (888) LA HELP U. 
 

Shelters housing more than 25 displaced citizens and not currently
registered with the parish Office of Emergency Preparedness should call
(866) 310-7617 or in Baton Rouge, 925-1938. 
 

Currently, there are about 46,300 individuals in 340 shelters statewide. 
However, the number is in constant flux as citizens displaced due to both
Rita and Katrina attempt to return to their homes. 
 

 

Department of Corrections

 

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office requested assistance from DOC to
provide security at two Lake Charles area hospitals.  Probation and Parole
officers from the Lafayette District will provide 24/7 security at both Moss
Regional Hospital and St. Patrick's Hospital. 
 

Two state facilities are still without power Monday:  C. Paul Phelps
Correctional Center in DeQuincy and Allen Correctional Institute in Kinder.
Both are operating on emergency generator power. 
 

The Department is in contact with local facilities to assess damage from
Hurricane Rita and to put together a timeline for return of those inmates. 
 

The Department is also considering the feasibility of erecting tents at some
state facilities to ease overcrowding of inmates since it appears that DOC
is looking at long-term housing of Orleans and Jefferson Parish inmates. 
 

The Humane Society has requested the assistance of the Louisiana State
Penitentiary for temporary housing and care of displaced animals.  LSP is
set to receive 200 dogs today.  Both LSP and Dixon Correctional Institute
are now working with the Humane Society to care for animals. 
 


###


The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF), Louisiana's fund for
Louisiana's people, has been established by Governor Kathleen Babineaux
Blanco in order to support long-term family restoration and recovery and
help provide assistance to our citizens in need through a network of
Louisiana charities and non-profit agencies.

877.HELPLA1 (877.435-7521)
www.louisianahelp.org