Hurricane Relief/Help Information Thread

Bayou Towers is unsafe for residents, officials say

HOUMA -- Housing Authority officials are discouraging Bayou Towers residents from staying at the public housing complex until damages can be assessed and power is restored.

Wayne Thibodeaux, executive director of the Housing Authority, said residents can return to check their belongings. But the building's generators have run out of fuel and elevator shafts are water damaged.
If you have questions, call Thibodeaux at 665-2997.

 

Entergy: Up to 3 weeks of work

Most Baton Rouge area customers of Entergy Corp. can expect to have electricity again within two weeks, but the lights won’t come on for the entire parish until Sept. 24, according to officials with the utility company that provides power to most of the state.
“We’re very careful in this process that we don’t over-promise,” said Renae Conley, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana.
But Entergy did release a list Thursday of when some Baton Rouge neighborhoods might expect power.
A total of 133,313 of Entergy’s 161,832 customers in East Baton Rouge Parish remained without power Thursday because of the tree-toppling winds of Hurricane Gustav.
DEMCO, the other utility company providing power to East Baton Rouge, had 23,648 of its 30,926 customers in the dark, according to the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. DEMCO officials, however, gave no timeline Thursday for when the lights they control might come back on.
All the major hospitals, the airport and about 10 percent of the city’s commercial buildings had their power restored by Thursday night, Conley said.
The port of Baton Rouge, much of downtown and most government buildings will have the lights back on by the end of the day today, she said.
Kerry Zimmerman, Entergy’s chief of communications, said Entergy Gulf States will soon set up a customer service center to give homeowners an estimate of when power will be restored to particular addresses.
“We have been able to develop a parish-by-parish assessment for entire state,” said Dennis Dawsey, Entergy’s vice president of distribution operations for Louisiana.
Dawsey said Entergy first restored electricity to hospitals, then to a waste-treatment plant and water-pumping stations.
“Then we go through heavy population areas, stores and gasoline needed for the community,” Dawsey said.
Entergy Gulf States spokesman Jeff Holeman said houses that have damaged risers — which is where power lines connect to houses — need more extensive work. Those homeowners need a licensed electrician and an inspector to prepare the risers before power can be restored.
Holeman said Entergy has 1,670 linemen, 500 bucket trucks, 1,048 tree trimmers and 700 tree-trimming trucks working.
Brent Bradley, manager of business and member services for DEMCO, said the company is still changing out some transmission poles but also is working on distribution lines.
“It’s really a simultaneous effort,” he said.
Thursday, DEMCO had 1,500 workers on the ground and expects to have 2,000 today, covering 9,300 miles of distribution lines and 250 miles of sub-transmission lines, Bradley said.
“It’s going to be an enormous effort,” he said. “This is by far the most devastation that the DEMCO service has ever seen in the 70 years of its existence.”
Bradley said he could not give a definite timeline for complete power restoration on their system. It depends on the severity of the destruction in particular areas, he said.
DEMCO does not have its own transmission lines, so it relies on delivery from another transmission grid, Bradley said.
“Once we re-establish our delivery points and our subtransmission grid is corrected, you will begin to see large numbers of people coming on,” he said.
PSC Commissioner Jimmy Field of Baton Rouge said he thinks Entergy is slightly exaggerating how long it will take to restore power in the Baton Rouge area.
“I don’t have power at my home. I don’t have power at my commission office. So I feel their pain,” Field said.
Field and two other PSC commissioners flew with Entergy on Thursday over Baton Rouge, Carville and Addis to look at the damage from Hurricane Gustav.
He said he saw transmission structures on the ground in sugar-cane fields and swamps.
Field said 20 structures went down in Gustav, compared with five or six during Hurricane Katrina.
Entergy, he said, is driving replacements in pieces to Louisiana from Arkansas and assembling them.
Field said he is concerned that Entergy did not have more replacements on hand in Louisiana.
Michelle Millhollon and Scott Dyer of The Advocate contributed to this report.

 

Lot of info posted in here, not sure if this has been posted but here are links of Power Outage Map with Est. Restoration Times.

http://entergy-louisiana.com/outages/la.aspx

http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=8954988

 

Relief sites open in local churches

As of today, 10 relief sites have been opened, supported by PRC Compassion.
Each of these sites will distribute water and Meals Ready to Eat, with some offering tarps:
--Healing Place Church, Highland Road between Interstate 10 and Airline Highway.
--Healing Place Church Donaldsonville, at Lowery Middle School.
--Center of Hope, Reiger Road off Siegen Lane.
--Miracle Place Church, 2080 Main St., Baker.
--Bethany North, 13855 Plank Road.
--Healing Place Church St. Amant Campus, 13423 La. 431.
--Household of Faith, 10469 Airline Highway.
--Greenwell Springs Baptist Church, 19421 Greenwell Springs Road.
--Living Faith Christian Center, 3232 Michelli Drive.
--Fellowship Church, 1555 Mount Pleasant Road.
Other international relief organizations connected to the effort are Samaritan's Purse, Billy Graham Ministries and Service International.

 

EBR curfew pushed to 10 p.m.

The curfew in East Baton Rouge Parish still is in affect tonight but will not begin until 10 p.m., said Sgt. Don Kelly, a police spokesman.
The curfew will be in affect until 6 a.m. Saturday and will continue until further notice, he said.

 

Public schools closed another week

East Baton Rouge Parish public schools won’t reopen until at least Monday, Sept. 15, but parochial schools in Baton Rouge are trying to open as early as Wednesday.
East Baton Rouge Parish Superintendent Charlotte Placide said today that she hopes to open at least some schools on Sept. 15.
All school system employees are being directed to show up for their normal work day on Wednesday. They are to assess the situation at their schools and report to their administrators.
Placide said she hopes to know after administrators meet again on Thursday which schools can open.
Sister Mary Michaeline, superintendent of schools for the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, said she is holding a meeting with principals at 2 p.m. Monday at the Catholic Life Center at 1800 S. Acadian Thruway. She said she hopes to know by then whether schools can reopen on Wednesday.
Placide said she would work with the Diocese of Baton Rouge to open the 17 parochial schools early, depending on her ability to pick up children safely with school buses.
Placide also said there are only 17 of almost 90 schools with

 

TERREBONEE PARISH, UNIFIED COMMAND STRUCTURE [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]PRESS BRIEFING
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2008

1. Look and leave began at 6:00 am today until 8:00 pm tonight, continuing every day until further notice. Residents are not encouraged to remain overnight in the parish, but if they do, they are subject to the curfew laws in effect; that being 8:00 pm until 6:00 am.
2. Major intersections in parish are presently being manned by law enforcement personnel and residents are reminded that they are to treat all intersections as a four-way stop. Stop signs are being brought into the parish and will on an intersectional basis be placed so that law enforcement officers can return to other functions.
3. Residents are asked to stay off of roadways except when they have to come in and leave. The reason for this is that excessive traffic on roadways will slow work crews who are taking part in the restoration process for utilities, hospitals, and other functions necessary to restore our infrastructure.
4. Unfortunately, as residents reenter the parish, crime will become an issue again. There was a hostage situation, which was resolved yesterday in Terrebonne as well as a murder, with the suspects being apprehended. Residents are to report any suspicious activity in and about their property to local law enforcement personnel.
5. No burn ordinance remains in effect for parish. However, Ashland landfill is open to the public between the hours of 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. We are attempting to have the landfill open seven (7) days a week and will supplement this information.
6. We anticipate that residential garbage pickup will begin Saturday morning, September 6, 2008, on a limited basis. You should place your trash where you normally do so and remember to keep it out of the roadways, out of drainage ditches, and on top of storm drains.
7. A number of businesses are opening and in particular, those related to health care. A list of pharmacies that are open for business will be provided at this afternoon’s briefing and will be posted as they open on the parish’s website.
8. Terrebonne General Medical Center emergency room is open, but residents are asked to use this facility only for acute care and not for minor injuries, such as sprains, burns, etc. Attempts are being made to open two (2) facilities on the East Side as well as the West Side and when those locations are open, that information will be provided.
9. Electrical power for the parish is a major concern, as well as water. Power has not been restored to the parish and residents are reminded that it will likely be a week or more until that may happen.
10. Several gas stations ha opened, lines remain long at those stations, and a list of same will be provided as soon as it has been compiled.
11. Distribution sites for food, water, ice, and meals ready to eat (mre) are up and running at the following locations:
§ Civic Center
§ Upper Dularge Fire Station
§ Grand Caillou Middle School
§ Little Caillou Fire Training Facility
§ South Terrebonne High School
§ H.L. Bourgeois High School
These sites are expected to have heavy traffic and will have to be continually stocked on a daily basis.
12. Residents are reminded to use caution when employing contractors to do repair work on their property. All contractors should have a parish occupational license. The Attorney General’s Office for the State of Louisiana, as well as District Attorney Joe Waitz, will prosecute to the fullest extent possible all those charged with contractor fraud and other individuals who take advantage of the elderly and disadvantaged during this emergency situation.
13. Animal supplies are being given out in the parking lot of Pet Smart on Martin Luther King Blvd. The supplies are only for those who are in need of the following:
§ Kennels
§ Bowls
§ Leashes
§ Litter boxes
There are no food supplies right now and when it becomes available, it will be announced.
14. The National Guard continues to provide assets in the form of machinery and personnel to supplement the recover in Terrebonne. At the present time, there are 400 National Guardsman working on behalf of the recovery effort and they are providing needed support to all phases of recovery effort to get Terrebonne Parish back up and running.
15. Again, we want to supply key numbers for residents to contact for assistance during this disaster. They are as follows:
§ Questions on reentry should be directed to the Unified Command at 985-873-6357. Due to the volume of calls, we ask for your continued patience.
§ To request assistance and hotel reimbursement, call 1-800-621-FEMA, or go on-line at www.FEMA.GOV.
§ Red Cross website contains link to “Safe and Well” registry for evacuees at www.redcross.org.


Michel Claudet
Parish President [/FONT]

 

BRFD urges caution with generators

Baton Rouge fire officials are warning residents not to connect portable electric generators directly to their household wiring; but if they do, they need to turn off the main electrical switch to their homes.
If the main switch is on and electrical power is restored while a generator is operating, it could cause a fire, Baton Rouge Fire Department spokesman Barry Mounce said today.
Mounce also said electricity could be fed into downed power lines, posing a hazard to residents and utility workers.
Power companies say the only safe way to connect a portable electric generator to your existing wiring is to have a licensed electrical contractor install a transfer switch. The switch transfers power from the utility power lines to the power coming from your generator.
Power firms also say never plug a portable electric generator into a regular household outlet. Doing so can energize downed power lines and injure neighbors or utility workers, they say.

 

*THIS JUST IN*

Saturday nights NASCAR race in Richmond has been delayed until Sunday, 1:00 PM EST due to HANNAH being such a bitch.

 

Entergy DEMCO estimate restoration

Thousands in Louisiana remain without power four days after Hurricane Gustav swept thought the area. Entergy and Demco have released information on the projected restoration of power to various locations in Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas. These estimates are as of Friday, Sept. 5, 2008.
Entergy estimates electricity will be restored as follows:
East Baton Rouge

• Shenandoah/White Oak: by Monday
• Rolling Meadow/Hickory Ridge/Coursey: by Friday
• Jefferson Terrace (incl. commercial): by Friday
• Country Club of La., The Advocate, Industrial Park: by Monday
• City of Central : Most by today
• Santa Maria: 5-7 days
• Scottlandville: Some now, all in 7 days (working on it)
• Brownsfield: 3-5 days
• Sharon Hills: 3-5 days
• Forest Heights Park: 3-5 days
• Greenwell Springs Road: 3-5 days
• Joor/Hooper/Sullivan/Lovett: 3-5 days
• Ge’ojes (St. Alphonse: 7-10 days
• Park Forest: by Sunday
• Tara/Goodwood Estates: by Friday
• Bocage: 7-10 days

Other Areas

• Denham Springs: Most by Tuesday
• Walker: Most by Monday
• Livingston/Satsuma: Most by Sept. 15 (10 days)
• Port Vincent/French Settlement: Most in 21 days
• Gonzales: Most by Sunday afternoon
• Prairieville: Most in 10-14 days
• Geismar/St. Gabriel: Most in 14-21 days
• Zachary/Baker: Most by end of the day today
• Clinton/Jackson: Most in 7-10 days
• St. Francisville: Most in 7-10 days
• Port Allen/Brusley/Addis: Most by end of the day Friday
• False River/Plaquemine/Irion/Waterloo: Most in 5-7 days
• Livonia: Most in 3-5 days

DEMCO provides the following estimates on power restoration to its customers:
East Baton Rouge
East Baton Rouge (Southern Part) will be energized today

• Womack Road
• South Tiger Bend Road (north access from Womack limited due to rising water)
• Vignes Road
• South Vignes Road
• Elliott Road
• Hoo Shoo Too Road
• Tiger Bend Road
• East Achord Road
• North Achord Road
• All of Lakes at White Oak from which we’ll feed into White Oak Landing area
• Parts of South Shenandoah Subdivision

East Baton Rouge (Central Part) This part of the system is down and will be fully energized following power availability at the Entergy delivery point at Jones Creek.

• Woodland Ridge
• Harrell’s Ferry Road
• Camelot
• Mead Road Area
• Willowoods Apartments
• Ascot and Coursey Boulevard
• Millerville and Royal Oak areas
• Jones Creek Road
• O’Neal Lane
• George O’Neal Area
• East Baton Rouge (Central Part) currently energized
• Florida Boulevard west of Flannery Road
• North and South Flannery Road
• Partial outages in Monticello
• Frenchtown Road down due to water and access will be worked today
• Glen Oaks along Mickens Road will be energized today

East Baton Rouge (Northwest Part)

• In Baker (Baker Hills, Brown Heights, Oaknolia Way)
• Bentley and Rolling Acres by tomorrow
• Portion of Baker Estates should be on by this evening
• US Hwy.61 north and south of La. Hwy 64 by the end of the day
• 50% of Plains Port Hudson area should be on by the end of the day
• Portions of Flanacher Road by end of the day
• Blackwater Road north of Dyer Road will be energized by tomorrow
• Pride area consisting of portions of Liberty Road, Jackson Road, Reames Road, Milldale Road should be on by the end of the day

Livingston

• Large portions of Livingston parish should be on by late today or tomorrow following the energizing of our transmission facilities.

East Feliciana & West Feliciana

• Portions of Bains along U.S. Highway 61 should be coming on today following installation of Line Generators. These are large units capable of 2,000kW load and will be placed across the distribution network in order to carry portions of the north and northwest loads including Tunica, Bains, Clinton areas.

Most Baton Rouge area customers of Entergy Corp. can expect to have electricity again within two weeks, but the lights won’t come on for the entire parish until Sept. 24, according to officials with the utility company that provides power to most of the state.
“We’re very careful in this process that we don’t over-promise,” said Renae Conley, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana.
But Entergy did release a list Thursday of when some Baton Rouge neighborhoods might expect power.
A total of 133,313 of Entergy’s 161,832 customers in East Baton Rouge Parish remained without power Thursday because of the tree-toppling winds of Hurricane Gustav.
DEMCO, the other utility company providing power to East Baton Rouge, had 23,648 of its 30,926 customers in the dark, according to the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities. DEMCO officials, however, gave no timeline Thursday for when the lights they control might come back on.
All the major hospitals, the airport and about 10 percent of the city’s commercial buildings had their power restored by Thursday night, Conley said.
The port of Baton Rouge, much of downtown and most government buildings will have the lights back on by the end of the day today, she said.
Kerry Zimmerman, Entergy’s chief of communications, said Entergy Gulf States will soon set up a customer service center to give homeowners an estimate of when power will be restored to particular addresses.
“We have been able to develop a parish-by-parish assessment for entire state,” said Dennis Dawsey, Entergy’s vice president of distribution operations for Louisiana.
Dawsey said Entergy first restored electricity to hospitals, then to a waste-treatment plant and water-pumping stations.
“Then we go through heavy population areas, stores and gasoline needed for the community,” Dawsey said.
Entergy Gulf States spokesman Jeff Holeman said houses that have damaged risers — which is where power lines connect to houses — need more extensive work. Those homeowners need a licensed electrician and an inspector to prepare the risers before power can be restored.
Holeman said Entergy has 1,670 linemen, 500 bucket trucks, 1,048 tree trimmers and 700 tree-trimming trucks working.
Brent Bradley, manager of business and member services for DEMCO, said the company is still changing out some transmission poles but also is working on distribution lines.
“It’s really a simultaneous effort,” he said.
Thursday, DEMCO had 1,500 workers on the ground and expects to have 2,000 today, covering 9,300 miles of distribution lines and 250 miles of sub-transmission lines, Bradley said.
“It’s going to be an enormous effort,” he said. “This is by far the most devastation that the DEMCO service has ever seen in the 70 years of its existence.”
Bradley said he could not give a definite timeline for complete power restoration on their system. It depends on the severity of the destruction in particular areas, he said.
DEMCO does not have its own transmission lines, so it relies on delivery from another transmission grid, Bradley said.
“Once we re-establish our delivery points and our subtransmission grid is corrected, you will begin to see large numbers of people coming on,” he said.
PSC Commissioner Jimmy Field of Baton Rouge said he thinks Entergy is slightly exaggerating how long it will take to restore power in the Baton Rouge area.
“I don’t have power at my home. I don’t have power at my commission office. So I feel their pain,” Field said.
Field and two other PSC commissioners flew with Entergy on Thursday over Baton Rouge, Carville and Addis to look at the damage from Hurricane Gustav.
He said he saw transmission structures on the ground in sugar-cane fields and swamps.
Field said 20 structures went down in Gustav, compared with five or six during Hurricane Katrina.
Entergy, he said, is driving replacements in pieces to Louisiana from Arkansas and assembling them.
Field said he is concerned that Entergy did not have more replacements on hand in Louisiana.