[StBernard] Workers train for hurricane season in St. Bernard Parish

[Westley Annis]

Workers train for hurricane season in St. Bernard Parish

Updated: Jun 07, 2012 2:01 PM CDT
Written by: Christie Walton - email
 

St. Bernard Parish workers Hesco basket training-WVUE FOX 8
Chalmette, La. - St. Bernard Parish gets ready for hurricane season with a
training session for workers on how to use Hesco baskets.

The baskets can take the place of sandbags to shore up defenses and stop
flooding.

St. Bernard Parish has used the baskets in the past to provide additional
storm protection in lower parts of the parish.

The company that provides them says the baskets are actually cheaper and
easier to use than sandbags.

Dennis Barkemeyer of Hesco Bastion Environmental, Inc. says the baskets cost
between $32 and $34 dollars a linear foot.

And while that may not seem cheap, the savings comes when it is time to put
them to work.

"It's the time, it's the labor. What we can build in 20 minutes takes about
77 manhours to build with sand bags," notes Barkemeyer

Hesco baskets were used extensively during the Mississippi River high water
threat last year and during Hurricane Gustav to prevent flooding along the
Industrial Canal.