[StBernard] Fishermen, businesses in eastern St. Bernard Parish bracing for storm

[Westley Annis]

Fishermen, businesses in eastern St. Bernard Parish bracing for storm
wwltv.com
Posted on October 3, 2013 at 10:18 PM
Updated yesterday at 10:23 PM
Jaclyn Kelley / Eyewitness News
Email: jkelley at wwltv.com | Twitter: @jkelleyWWL

ST. BERNARD PARISH -- Officials, fisherman and businesses in St. Bernard
Parish are keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Karen.
Glenn Sanchez, who owns Breton Sound Marina, is among the many bracing for
the storm and hoping for the best.

"Anything we need to tie down or pick up we are going to do it, and try and
be safe that is all we can do," said Sanchez.

St. Bernard Parish President David Peralta said the eastern part of the
parish is expecting a 6 to 8 foot storm surge, which is why parish officials
have already advised fishermen to start bring in their boats.

"We have a lot of people down there, a lot of camps," said Peratla. "They
have already been alerted. Most of the commercial fleet is already in. We
started about 10 a.m. this morning."

Storm preparations throughout the parish are well underway and parish
officials say crews will continue to be busy.

"We are doing some last-minute items, checking generators, checking light
systems, making sure we are fueled up," said Peralta. "We certainly check
our boats, our air boats."

Parish officials say St. Bernard residents need to be prepared for heavy
rain and possible power outages, which is why officials are urging folks to
stock up on essentials like water and batteries.

"This thing is due, at this point, to hit us at night time, so have your
flashlights, be ready. If you have a generator make sure your generators are
located in a safe place around your house, not inside your house," said
Peralta.

Thursday night some shoppers got a head start with their last-minute storm
preparations.

Several people were out buying up cases of water bottles, packs of
batteries, flashlights and even battery-powered lanterns.
They are preparations many stores expect to see ramp up come Friday.