OneStorm Signs Off for Now- Post Disaster Resources Available

Hello all,

We realize that many of you are still searching for the most updated, post-disaster information from your parishes or counties, and we want to help.

With Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike, we’re operating more blogs to help the communities in the storms’ tracks.  We have to sign off on the Hurricane Gustav blog for now, but, we can direct you folks to the right places for your needed information:

• For Louisiana citizens, the state of Louisiana is routinely updating this site with press releases:  http://emergency.louisiana.gov/ You can find information on school closures, FEMA help, food stamps, POD’s, and other important post-disaster resources there.
• For Mississippi citizens, the state of Mississippi is routinely updating its Mississippi Emergency Management site with post-disaster information.
• Local media, such as radio and television outlets, typically provides updated local information.
• Visit your local emergency management/government web site for recovery effort and community information.  You can find a list of Louisiana emergency management sites here:  http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/linkpages/parishpa.htm
• For free hurricane preparedness resources, including articles on how to clean up after flooding, how to clean out refrigerators and freezers after a power outage, and how to cope with disaster, please visit us at OneStorm.
• If you still cannot find the information you need, you can e-mail me at Heidi@onestorm.org  and I will answer you as quickly as possible.

Thank you for the wonderful feedback we’ve received from the affected counties and parishes.  It has truly been a pleasure to bring information to the communities that need it most.

Sincerely,

Heidi and Chris

Louisiana: St. John Parish POD, Open Businesses, and Community Information

RE-ENTRY INFORMATION/PRECAUTIONS

***DISTRIBUTION POINTS BEGIN FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

**Red Cross Centers:

Westbank Community Center, 173 East 3rd St in Edgard (meals, ice, water)

This center will be open sometime in the afternoon. Please stay tuned to the news for the times as they are made available.

Eastbank: Regala Park, 194 Regala Park Rd. in Reserve (meals and water)

This center will be open sometime in the afternoon. Please stay tuned to the news for the times as they are made available.

**Winn Dixie (tomorrow only) ICE will be given. 10 AM. Resident must bring a container.

**State POD: Frank’s Supermarket, 1709 W. Airline Hwy in LaPlace. (Meals, Ice, Water)

This center will be open daily from 7 AM to 6 PM.

Louisiana: Numerous State Government Offices Remain Closed

BATON ROUGE (September 4, 2008) — Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis announced the closure of state government offices on Friday, September 5, 2008, due to Hurricane Gustav, in the following parishes:

Lafourche, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, Terrebonne, Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, St. James, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana, Livingston, St. Helena, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany

All state employees who work in a state facility located in parishes not listed above should report to work, unless they are instructed by their supervisors to either not report to work or to vacate their work sites due to unforeseen electrical outages or damages.

All essential personnel, as well as employees that are required to work due to Hurricane Gustav, should report to work as directed by their supervisors.

Louisiana: Workforce Commission Announces Business and Career Center Openings, Extended Hours

BATON ROUGE (September 4, 2008) – The Louisiana Workforce Commission announced today that its Business and Career Solutions Centers in central and north Louisiana are open and will be staffed seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to assist job seekers and employers. 

In areas affected by Hurricane Gustav, centers are open in Bogalusa, Hammond, Lafayette, Lake Charles and DeRidder. These centers also will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.

Centers in heavily affected areas will reopen as soon as electricity and Internet service are restored.
Mobile units, including four from Texas, are being sent to high-volume areas throughout south Louisiana to assist citizens with job needs. The first of these units will be in Baton Rouge on Friday, Sept. 5, at the Business and Career Solutions Center on Wooddale Boulevard. A schedule of additional locations will be issued on Monday, Sept. 8.
For the latest information on Hurricane Gustav, visit emergency.louisiana.gov or call the state’s emergency hotline at 1-866-288-2484 to listen to a recorded message with the most up-to-date information.

Source:  “Press Release:  Louisiana Workforce Announces Business and Career Center Openings, Extended Hours.”  State of Louisiana.  4 September 2008.

Louisiana: St. John Parish Update- Includes List of Open Businesses

***DISTRIBUTION POINTS BEGIN FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
**Red Cross Centers:
Westbank Community Center, 173 East 3rd St in Edgard (meals, ice, water)
This center will be open sometime in the afternoon. Please stay tuned to the news for the times as they are made available.
Eastbank: Regala Park, 194 Regala Park Rd. in Reserve (meals and water)
This center will be open sometime in the afternoon. Please stay tuned to the news for the times as they are made available.
**Winn Dixie (tomorrow only) ICE will be given. 10 AM. Resident must bring a container.
**State POD: Frank’s Supermarket, 1709 W. Airline Hwy in LaPlace. (Meals, Ice, Water)
This center will be open daily from 7 AM to 6 PM.

SERVICES ARE FEW: Power is out in 90% of the parish. Sewerage service is unreliable until power is restored.

HOSPITAL IS OPEN for EMERGENCIES ONLY. Elective services will begin next week at some point.

CURFEW is still in place from 8 pm to 6 am. **Alcohol Ban is in effect.

Be prepared to be ON YOUR OWN for several days.  Those who can stay away for another day or two should.

Louisiana: Plaquemines Parish Recovery Update

Belle Chasse, LA – Following is important information for Plaquemines Parish residents:

• Power – Entergy crews are still working hard in the parish to restore power to residents.  The Braithwaite area should be up in a day or two.  A customer information center at the St. Rosalie office located at 16197 Highway 23 in Belle Chasse will open Saturday from 8am-5pm and remain in operation as long as necessary.
• Breach Update – 6 Chinooks are working to drop bags into the breach.  The flooded area on the highway side of the breach will begin to be pumped out.  About 400 bags were dropped today.  Once the breach is filled, clay and rock will be placed on top to reinforce the levee so equipment can move in on top of the levee to repair the hole more permanently.
• Water – Samples are still being taken on the eastbank.  The boil water is in effect for the eastbank until further notice.
• Debris – Debris hauling is continuing throughout the parish and will soon be completed in the Belle Chasse area.
• Curfew – The curfew is now lifted for the entire parish.
• Empire Locks are now manned.

Source:  “Press Release:  Plaquemines Parish Gustav Update.”  Plaquemines Parish Emergency Management.   4 September 2008, 7:15 PM.

Mississippi: Preliminary Damage Assessments for Gustav and Other Important Information

Preliminary Damage Assessments for Gustav

PEARL – Joint preliminary damage assessments are being conducted by MEMA, FEMA and representatives from local governments.

The joint teams are assessing the damage in Washington, Wilkinson, Harrison and Hancock counties to see if they meet the federal threshold for disaster aid to individuals and households.

The joint teams are also assessing damage in these 16 counties — Adams, Amite, Copiah, Forrest, Franklin, George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jones, Lincoln, Marion, Pearl River, Stone, Warren and Wilkinson counties — to see if they qualify for federal public assistance.

Hurricane Gustav caused damage from high winds, tornadoes, torrential rainfall and inland flooding. The state received high winds and heavy rains along the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast and up to Brookhaven.

If approved, Public Assistance would provide aid to public and certain private, non-profit entities for certain emergency services and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged public facilities.

FEMA assesses a number of factors to determine the severity, magnitude and impact of a disaster event.  Preliminary damage assessments are used to estimate the extent of the disaster and its impact on individuals and public facilities.

Louisiana: Many Areas Under a Boil Water Notice- Residents Please Read On

For a list of water systems that are under boil advisory until released by the Department of Health and Hospitals, click here.

Or, for a list of drinking water systems that have water that is safe to drink, click here.

If you live in an area under boil advisory or you have lost water pressure at your tap or if the water pressure is extremely low State Health Officer Jimmy Guidry, MD, recommends that homeowners disinfect their water by any one of the following methods prior to consumption (including drinking, cooking, brushing teeth or preparing food):

* Boil water for one full minute in a clean container. The one minute boil time begins after the water has been brought to a rolling boil. (The flat taste can be eliminated by shaking the water in a bottle or pouring it from one container to another.)

* If the water is clear, mix 1/8 teaspoon of unscented, liquid chlorine laundry bleach with one gallon of water and let it stand for at least 30 minutes prior to consumption. If the water is cloudy or colored, use 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water. Be sure to mix thoroughly. If the treated water has too strong a chlorine taste, it can be made more palatable by allowing the water to stand exposed to the air for a few hours or by pouring it from one clean container to another several times.

Louisiana: Disaster Food Stamp Update

• For the latest information on disaster food stamps, please visit the State of Louisiana’s web site by clicking here.

Louisiana: Lafourche Parish Distribution Sites

Parish Sets Up 3 Distribution Sites in Lafourche

Lafourche Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness has announced the opening of three distribution sites for parish residents. Those sites are as follows:
Thibodaux High School football stadium parking lot (on Tiger Drive in Thibodaux)
Raceland Recreation Center (241 Recreation Drive in Raceland)
Galliano Wal-Mart (on Hwy 3235 in Galliano)

As of noon, the Thibodaux High School site had ice ONLY. The Raceland Recreation Center has M.R.E.’s, Ice and blue tarps. The Galliano Wal-Mart had ice ONLY, but blue tarps would be arriving shortly.

Source:  “Press Release:  Parish Sets Up 3 Distribution Sites in Lafourche.”  Lafourche Parish Government Office of Emergency Preparedness.  4 September 2008,  12:10 PM.