JOINT INFORMATION CENTER

September 12, 2008

Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration News Update

Unified Office Of Coastal Protection And Restoration/National Guard/U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Flooding Update -- 10 p.m.

BATON ROUGE --
A temporary aqua-tube levee protecting the Town of Lafitte has failed. Pumps have been requested to assist in the dewatering of the town. USGS gauges show water levels falling at this time. The Franklin Canal levee has breached and nearby nursing home residents are being evacuated.

Water levels in Lake Pontchartrain are peaking at slightly less than six feet. Levels in Southeast Louisiana (including Industrial Canal, Breton Sound, and Grand Isle) are receding. South-central Louisiana levels are peaking (Lafourche, Terrebonne, eastern St. Mary). Water levels from Morgan City west are still rising. The federal flood protection system (Grand Isle notwithstanding) has not been compromised. No breaches or overtopping have been reported at federal levee systems. Many non-federal/back levees have been and are being overtopped.

St Tammany: Hwy 11 south of Schneider Canal is flooded and impassable; 5 mile bridge is also closed to thru traffic. Many roadways in Slidell are impassable. Hwy 90 has water to Louisiana/Mississippi state line. Avery Estates and Palm Lake neighborhoods on the east side of Slidell are flooded. Madisonville streets inundated resulting in numerous road closures below US Hwy 190 including Hwy 22. Shelter in Mandeville is open. Water is expected to rise to Rita levels. No mandatory evacuations.
St. Bernard: Louisiana National Guard Blackhawk Helicopter levee assessment mission is complete; confirmed that non-federal levees experienced overtopping only, no breaches. Federal protection system held but non-federal protection has been overtopped; Hopedale, Shell Beach, and Yscloskey communities are flooded. Water-level gauge at Bay Gardene south of Caernarvon shows water level is beginning to fall.
Plaquemines: All is secure and Nationa! l Guard is ceasing operations for the night and returning to New Orleans. National Guard Blackhawk Helicopter flyover, levee assessment mission is complete; confirmed that non-federal levees experienced overtopping and scour only, no breaches. 143 Guardsmen are sandbagging Scarsdale scour site (50-feet wide, five-feet deep scour, 28,000 sandbags have been placed. National Guard has an additional 500,000 sandbags available at Jackson Barracks; 26,000 sand bags have been deployed to the site. Water has crested and is receding. Active flood fights on both east and west banks. East bank communities of Braithwaite, Port Nichols, and Scarsdale are threatened by flooding. Area has about 1000 homes. Plaquemines Parish has reported no home flooding. Caernarvon diversion structure opened to drain/backflow the protected area between river levee and back levee into the Mississippi River. Myrtle Grove back levee is overtopping.
Orleans/Jefferson: Levees are intact, no breaches o! r overtopping. Pumps are fully functional. London Ave and 17th Street Canal outfall canal on Lake Pontchartrain as well as Harvey Canal Gate on Westbank of Jefferson are all closed.
IHNC: Current water elevation is eight feet. Flood walls are built to 12 feet. Water not expected to threaten walls. No ships/boats dislodged or adrift in canal.
Lafitte: Temporary aqua-tube levee protecting the Town of Lafitte has failed. Pumps have been requested to assist in the dewatering of the town. Water levels on nearby USGS gauges show water levels falling at this time. Franklin Canal levee has breached and nearby nursing home residents are being evacuated. Lower points on levees and interim protection were overtopped. Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner is reporting six feet of water or more near the town hall after temporary measures including sandbags and water-filled tubes were overwhelmed. Citizens were told to evacuate well in advance of the levees being compromised.

Grand Isle: National Guard assets on site report water is beginning to recede. Island is currently cut off due to inundation of Hwy. 1 below Leeville. Military staged to respond as soon as water subsides. All temporary sand-levee work was destroyed. Several breaches have formed in original levee on east end of island. Gauges in Barataria Bay indicating peak surge was equal to or slightly higher than Gustav peak.
Lafourche: All areas below Golden Meadow floodgate are inundated.
Terrebonne: The Lashbrook pump station in Chauvin is undermined by hydraulic pressure from storm surge and is threatening to collapse; remedy is being contemplated. There is flooding at all 5 major parish bayous (i.e., Dularge, Pointe aux Chenes, Terrebonne, Petite Calliou, Grand Calliou). GOHSEP is providing 20 twenty-four inch pumps to dewater the Parish; pumps are en route. A majority of lower Terrebonne has been inundated. Ward 7 levee in Chauvin is n! ow confirmed to have been overtopped; attempts are being made to isolate the system to minimize additional flooding. Communities of Pointe Aux Chenes, Montegut, Dulac, and Dularge, and portions of lower-Theriot are flooded. 10-to-12 inches of water on streets, main roads continue to be passable. Monitoring stations offshore of Timbalier Island are reporting surge heights approaching Gustav levels, with wave heights of 11 feet. Wind intensity and wave heights measured off Timbalier Island have leveled off.
St. Mary: Officials in St. Mary have confirmed that the Franklin Canal Levee has breached. Buses and ambulances are currently evacuating a nearby nursing home. Mr. Arthur believes that all nursing home residents will be evacuated before water reaches them. Water is overtopping the Ivanhoe canal spoil bank. St. Mary Parish OEP Director says water levels are peaking and will drop shortly, only to rise again between noon and 3:00 a.m. US Army Corps of Engineers is dep! loying three tractor-driven pumps to dewater the Hwy 317 levee area, w hich was overtopped. US Army Corps of Engineers is also providing 25,000 sandbags to the flood-fighting effort. Bayou Sale levees (Hwy 317) west of Berwick are overtopped. Twenty-four inches of inundation in lower parish. Hwy 387 is closed.
Iberia: Delcambre: 20 percent of the community is now flooded with one foot of water. Floodwaters are projected to continue to rise until 3:00AM. Local roads have two-to-three feet of water over the roadway. Residents are still in Delcambre and are resisting efforts to evacuate. Sheriff and Police Chief are returning, hoping to convince residents to leave. Rescue units are on "stand-by". 105 people are in shelter of last resort in New Iberia. National Guard is monitoring the roads from Gueydan east and will continue to provide updates. Hayes Road and Railroad Road southwest of New Iberia are inundated with one foot of water and are impassable to civilian traffic. Areas south of Hwy 90 and east of 675 evacuated. Assets are in place s! hould further evacuations be necessary.
Vermilion: Vermilion Parish Sheriff's Office is ceasing operations for the night and will resume at 5:30 AM. The National Guard is stationed on Hwy 333, warning residents of water five miles south of Henry and rising. All locks and floodgates are closed and undamaged, as are levees. There is significant flooding on Hwy 82 and arteries off Hwys 330, 685, and 688. Chevron building in Intracoastal City is flooded. Water is on the road at Avery Island bridge. Sherriff reported all residents of Pecan Island, Forked Island, and Intracoastal City evacuated. Water levels 5 feet above normal. All assets are on standby.
Calcasieu: Calcasieu locks are all closed, and expected to reopen at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday. Louisiana National Guard assets are in place.
Cameron: Two feet of water over Hwy 27 up to north of Hackberry. National Guard rescued a motorist who was stranded in vehicle. National Guard also rescued 8-year old boy! to his father in Hackberry. Mother would not leave house in Cameron. Hwy 82 to Texas line (including Cameron Court House) and Hwy 27 along coast are inundated with up to five feet of water. National Guard has high-water vehicles and boats in place for assistance with evacuations. Parish EOC moved to Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office.

For the latest information on Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, 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.