St. Bernard Parish officials believe parish is better prepared for a hurricane today than for Katrina but residents should be prepared to evacuate a strong storm; disabled residents encouraged to call 278-4268 to register to be assisted with evacuation
                                        
May 30, 2007
Steve Cannizaro

Some of the participants at the hurricane conference in Chalmete on Wednesday, May 30, were, from left, Sheriff Jack Stephens, Parish President Henry "Junior'' Rodriguez, State Commissioner of Agriculture Bob Odom, Pat Santos, assistant director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency  Preparedness, Fire Chief Thomas Stone, State Police Trooper Christopher Bodet and Parish Council Chairman Joseph DiFatta.    STEVE CANNIZARO PHOTO

Everyone on a panel discussing hurricane preparation Wednesday agreed St. Bernard Parish is better prepared for a hurricane now than before Katrina struck but it’s also agreed a Category 3 storm today could bring water again to the parish, although probably not as much as in the past because the levees are taller and built better.  

A mandatory evacuation would be issued for approaching storms that are a Category 3, which have the potential for heavy destruction, and when storm surge is predicted to be 13 feet. Residents should be ready to leave if a mandatory evacuation is ordered.

It’s also believed a strong storm would see more residents heed evacuation warnings because of the experience of Katrina. But if they didn’t, there wouldn’t be any shelters of last resort opened in St. Bernard in a strong storm because they wouldn’t be deemed safe. And at some point it would be unsafe to send out emergency personnel to help people who didn’t leave.

Those were some of the statements of parish officials at a pre-hurricane season conference on Wednesday, May 30.

“I’ve been in office 32 years and this is the best we have ever been prepared’’ for hurricane season, which unofficially starts Friday, Parish President Henry “Junior’’ Rodriguez said in presiding over the conference that brought together the Parish Council, Sheriff Jack Stephens, Fire Chief Thomas Stone, parish Dave Dysart, manager of the parish’s Office of Emergency Preparedness, State Commissioner of Agriculture Bob Odom and parish Coroner Bryan Bertucci. Also present were officials from the National Guard, National Weather Service, State Police, State Homeland Security, Acadian Ambulance, the Coast Guard, state Wildlife and Fisheries Department and utility companies and oil refineries.

The parish has a new emergency plan that includes use of warning sirens and a AM radio station for residents to get instant reports of what is happening, Rodriguez said.

Stephens said communications systems between parish agencies and with the state and other parishes are vastly improved since Hurricane Katrina. The sheriff also said his department has plans for neighborhood patrols during evacuations that would continue until “it is imprudent for officers to be on the streets’’ because of safety concerns.

Stephens also said his office has 18 boats for rescue operations and SWAT team members are trained in boat patrol.

In the event of a flood, 50-60 officers would stay at the Domino’s sugar plant in Arabi and 60 National Guard troops would be stationed here along with some heavy equipment.

“The Fire Department will be ready’’ if there is a hurricane, Fire Chief Thomas Stone said.

Mindful that so much equipment was lost in the flood waters of Katrina, Stone said, his department has an agreement in which all apparatus and half the manpower of his department would be moved to Tangipahoa Parish before a hurricane strikes.

Rodriguez, Parish Council members Joseph DiFatta, Craig Taffaro Jr., Judy Hoffmeister and Mark Madary, who last week toured the Mississippi River - Gulf Outlet by boat along with officials of the Corps of Engineers, and Bob Turner of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority office in St. Bernard, all said it’s evident the levees on the MR-GO are in the best shape they have ever been in. They are built to 20 feet and made of better material, clay, than in the past.

But everyone acknowledged that residents, many still living in FEMA trailers that aren’t built to withstand winds of much more than 40 mph, should be ready to evacuate if a strong storm is approaching and should already be compiling a list of what they need to be bringing with them, including prescription medicines, phone numbers, copies of insurance documents, deeds and titles, cash for extended stays and supplies for themselves and their pets.

For those who can’t bring pets, the animals can be brought to an announced location during an evacuation and they will be buses to areas in Alexandria, Shreveport and Monroe where they will be taken care of by the state Agriculture Department, Commissioner Odom said.

Disabled residents who need help with evacuation should now call the parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, at (504) 278-4268, to get registered on a list for those who need help.

“We lost 154 people’’ in the last hurricane, Coroner Bertucci said. “You need to evacuate’’ if it is mandated, he said. “Leave in a timely manner.’’

St. Bernard has learned from Katrina, the Council members said. Now, “one of the most important things zcitizens can do is evacuate if an order is issued,’’ DiFatta said.

Hoffmeister said early evacuation is key to survival if a strong storm is coming. “The number of disabled people living in FEMA trailers’’ whou would need assistance is very jigh, she said.

Madary, who has worked to make sure animals at the parish animal shelter would be evacuated as well parish residents, said, “Success begins with preparation’’ for a storm. “All of us can look at Katrina as a learning lesson.’’

Dysart said there are specific timelines for action based on where a hurricane is.

The Office of Emergency Preparedness would go on alert when gale force winds are an estimated 72 hours from the Gulf Coast, Dysart said.

At 60-55 hours out, special needs residents could be evacuated, while at 50-40 hours out, residents would be ordered to evacuate areas outside the levee protection system, and at 40-30 hours out there could be an order of evacuation for the entire parish. The state’s contraflow plan would start at 30 hours out from land.

Stephens said his office can’t force people to evacuate but they would be told at some point that emergency personnel couldn’t help them because of safety factors. “They would be on their own’’ if they didn’t leave, the sheriff said.

                             
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