[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish Government Press Conference

[Westley Annis]

THE ST. BERNARD PARISH PRESIDENT AND THE FIRE CHIEF OF ST. BERNARD PARISH
GIVE A JOINT UPDATE TONIGHT.

 

President Taffaro and Chief Stone address the residents of St. Bernard
Parish in a 10pm update.

 

 

When asked what is the biggest issue for St. Bernard Parish right now,
President Taffaro stated, that it is "the lack of power. With that,
everything else will fall into place."




 

Entergy has announced that they have over 100 crews in St. Bernard Parish
right now. They are assessing the damage and drawing up a plan to be
efficient and safe for the residents of St. Bernard Parish.

 

A spokesperson for Entergy has told President Taffaro that they will give
him a timeline for the work to be done in order to reconnect the residents
of St. Bernard parish.

 

Garbage pickup will resume on Thursday. The schedule that was in place
before the evacuation, will be followed again starting tomorrow.

 

Debris pick up will be on Monday. Please try to pick up any storm related
debris before the pickup day. Please try to clean out catch basins on or
near your property to ensure the maximum amount of drainage for rain water.

 

Sewer vacuum and hailing trucks have begun servicing sewer lift stations
until the power is turned on. Lift stations have been prepared for power and
generated powered lift stations are scheduled to be turned on Thursday.

 

Water continues to be safe. We have lowered water pressure at the present
time in order to address a generator problem at the water plant.

 

Sheriff Jack Stephens has modified the curfew to dusk to dawn, and will have
all businesses close during evening hours. The sheriff's office is also
encouraging caution on the streets. The lack of power has prevented any
streetlights from working at this time. Residents may enter the parish at
any time, but are directed to proceed to their residence immediately.

 

Doris Voitier, School Superintendent plans to reopen schools on Monday,
again depending on Entergy's progress.

 

Chief Stone addressed the issue of generators and candle usage during the
power outage.

 

Carbon Dioxide is a huge threat when using a generator, stated Chief Stone.
A generator should never be used in a building our any area that is not well
ventilated. The caution should be extended when choosing which site to place
a generator also. Please do not allow the generator or the cables to be in,
or run through any puddles. Also, larger generators pose a risk of
backfeeding. The downed lines in the area could be affected by backfeeding,
which would make the lines "charged", and very dangerous.

 

FEMA is now offering individual assistance to those residents that either
call 1-800-621-3362 (1-800-621-FEMA) or go to the FEMA website which is
fema.gov. 

 

 

 

 

Tune to the local media for information. Also, St. Bernard Parish Government
will be issuing updates on its website at www.sbpg.net
<http://www.sbpg.net/> , on its cable access station at channel 76 for Cox
Communications customers and on its emergency communications radio station
at 1680-AM.

 

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