Mike Pervel
St. Tammany News

By Mike Pervel

St. Tammany News The aftermath of Hurricane Gustav continues to wreak havoc with St. Tammany Parish. Abita Springs'�� Alderman Greg Lemons, who is serving as a liaison for the St. Tammany Parish Emergency Operations Center for the town of Abita, said there were eye witness reports of a tornado touching down at Louisiana Highway 59 and Sharp Road just south of Abita Springs at about 3:30 Tuesday afternoon.

'��It did some minor damage to office buildings located in the area. The tornado then touched down in the proximity of Coop Drive near the parish headquarters again with no injuries being reported,'�� Lemons said.

The town of Abita Springs has experienced some street flooding as the result of the Abita River overflowing its banks. Lemons said a gauge at Louisiana Highway 36 located by the bridge entering Abita Springs showed the river cresting at about 7:30 Tuesday evening at approximately 13 feet above the mean water level.

Lemons said that gauge is used as an indicator for the remainder of the Abita Springs area reference water levels.

The water levels had begun to recede at a rate of about a foot and a half to two feet an hour. Several roads were inundated around midnight Tuesday.

The Abita Creek spilled over its banks around midnight Tuesday, causing the closure of several streets inside Abita Springs. The closures occurred at St. Joseph Street and Hickory Street. In anticipation of the flooding, Abita Springs'�� Mayor Louis Fitzmorris closed down both of those streets.

Range Line Road, which is also known as La. 59 north and La. 59 south just past Morgan'��s Curve, were also closed. There were some other streets that experienced some minor flooding but were still passable. Lemons said the Abita River drains into the Bogue Falaya River, which in turn drains into the Tchefuncte River, which then makes its way into Lake Pontchartrain.

'��With the storm surge and southerly winds, the northern tributaries were not allowed to drain normally, causing local flooding in and around Abita Springs,'�� Lemons said.

'��We anticipate the Abita River to recede more rapidly as time progresses. Even with a normal amount of rainfall, we feel the Abita River will continue to recede, which will eliminate local street flooding,'�� Lemons added.

Lemons said with the river receding, the drainage should be sped up from properties in Abita. To this point, we have not had any reports of any interior home flooding in Abita Springs,'�� Lemons added.

Mayor Fitzmorris said residents are starting to get electricity back.

'��We have power in downtown Abita along with Main and Level streets. I'��m being told by Cleco that power may be restored by Friday,'�� Fitzmorris said.

At press time, Fitzmorris said La. 59 entering Abita Springs was still impassable due to the water level from the Abita River. The mayor said the only entrance in and out of Abita Springs is by using La. 36. a