Statement from Parish President Kevin Davis Hurricane Gustav is not over. St. Tammany Parish is still feeling the effects of this storm.  I just returned from a tour of St. Tammany Parish. This is what I saw: Trees took power poles and lines out across St. Tammany Parish. Power outages are widespread. However, the damage is consistent with that of a strong tropical storm, not a hurricane.  The winds are lessening across the parish, but we may still lose more trees and power lines. Lake Pontchartrain'€™s elevation has stabilized, but wind is still driving water in some areas. Water crossed U.S. Highway 90, north of the Rigolets. Indian Village Road is under water. Water crossed the roads on Debbie, Evella and Carr drives but did not enter homes. We are assessing Palm Lake, Bayou Liberty and Lacombe at this time. Water is up to Jefferson Street in Old Mandeville. The flood waters crossed Water Street in Madisonville but it is passable. For these, and other public safety reasons, I am keeping St. Tammany Parish closed tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 2. A decision for re-entry will be made tomorrow. Without electricity, sewer and water systems cannot operate. Give us Tuesday and Wednesday to make major repairs. The Department of Health and Hospitals is conducting an assessment of all central water and sewer systems across the parish.  The curfew remains in effect tonight and remains in effect until dawn. We will re-evaluate the curfew tomorrow. We estimate that over 45,000 households in St. Tammany Parish are without power at this time. CLECO is beginning its damage assessment now. By noon tomorrow they will have a restoration timetable. Washington St. Tammany Electric Co-op is also making an assessment at this time. WST has 300 additional linemen en-route to assist with restoration and will be working through the night. Charter Communications reports that a major fiber line between Mandeville and Slidell was damaged, causing a loss of cable services in the western side of the parish. A full assessment will be made at daybreak. Repairs will begin at the end of the assessment. I have been assured that Charter Communication will move with as much haste as possible. The St. Tammany Parish Public School system is requesting that all principals check their schools on Tuesday and provide their site checklist to the Central Office as soon as possible. At this point,, schools will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Decisions about reopening schools will be made once the readiness of the school sites is determined. Parents and employees are advised to watch the School System web site and local media for further announcements. Tonight, I ask the citizens of St. Tammany to say a prayer for the other residents of Louisiana who were not as fortunate today as we were. |