[StBernard] St. Bernard spared: officials report no flooding and minimal wind damage

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard spared: officials report no flooding and minimal wind damage
by Paul Rioux, The Times-Picayune 
Monday September 01, 2008, 2:20 PM
As the tail end of Hurricane Gustav passes through southeastern Louisiana
this afternoon, it appears St. Bernard Parish weathered the storm with no
flooding and minimal wind damage, a huge morale boost for residents still
recovering from Hurricane Katrina's catastrophic damage.

Packing sustained winds of up to 70 mph in St. Bernard, Gustav blew shingles
off some roofs and toppled an occasional tree, but the vast majority of
homes appeared unscathed.

A 90-minute drive through neighborhoods from Arabi to Violet revealed a
single broken window.

Parish officials were still eying water levels in the Industrial Canal this
afternoon, but they couldn't contain their relief that, so far, St. Bernard
had largely been spared.

"We won't have to spend much time cleaning up, and we can get right back to
our recovery from Katrina without losing momentum," Parish President Craig
Taffaro said. "I think people will be re-energized to pick up where they
left off."

Meraux resident Vernon Alfonso was all smiles as he stood in his front yard
using a cell phone to share the good news with his wife and neighbors early
this afternoon.

"I guess we fared alright," he said. "It's a good thing because I don't
think a lot of people would have come back if we got wiped out again.

One of the few instances of substantial damage occurred at the Marina Motel
on Paris Road in Chalmette, where a gust of wind blew off half of the tin
roof about 11:30 a.m.

"Just when we thought we made it, the roof blew off," said owner Bob
Berthelot, who did not evacuate.

But Berthelot was pleased to learn that most of his fellow St. Bernardians
fared better,

"This gives people a little more confidence to come back," he said. "This is
all just the price we pay for living in paradise."

Taffaro said he planned to hold a news conference tonight to discuss plans
for allowing evacuated residents to return.