Thursday, September 4, 2008

MORE LAFOURCHE UPDATES

SHELTER INFO: Lafourche Parish has opened two shelters as Refuges of Last Resort for residents who are coming back to find their homes uninhabitable and have no where else to go. Those two site locations are the Larose Civic Center and Thibodaux High School. The American Red Cross is in the area and is assisting at our shelters. Anyone needing information on shelters open outside of Lafourche Parish should call 1-800-RED-CROSS (or 1-800-733-2767).

ELECTRICITY: Power is still out throughout all of Lafourche Parish. Entergy is working to restore power as quickly as possible with crews from all over the country. Entergy officials estimate that some areas of the parish could have power restored very shortly, but others could take as long as 4 to 6 weeks.

WATER/GAS: Lafourche Parish Water District #1 is still advising residents to boil their water for one full minute before use only as a precaution. South Coast Gas, which provides natural gas services to many Lafourche residents, is reporting that there are NO problems with their service.

PHONE SERVICE: Latelco customers do not have telephone service at this time, but technicians are working to bring up telephone services as soon as possible. In the AT&T service area, if you are without your individual telephone service, you should call 1-800-861-0499. Wireless phone reception seems to now be working on most providers’ networks.


911 SERVICE: 911 Service is operational in the areas that have telephone service. In the Latelco service area, 911 calls can only be made from a wireless phone. All 911 calls made from a telephone in the Latelco area are being rerouted to Lafourche Parish Fire Protection District #3. PLEASE DO NOT DIAL 911 FOR NON-EMERGENCY CALLS.

DEBRIS: Laforuche Parish Government is asking residents to keep trash and debris separated as much as possible. Furthermore, debris should be placed at the curb, divided into separate piles including: metal; clean wood and tree debris; white goods/household appliances; batteries, chemicals and other potentially hazardous items. Loose debris should be boxed, bundled and containerized as much as possible. Please keep debris out of roadside ditches to avoid blocking drainage. DO NOT BURN DEBRIS PILES. There is a Burn Ban in Lafourche Parish until further notice.

FEMA ASSISTANCE: Any resident seeking information about financial assistance from FEMA due to evacuations or damages that have made your home uninhabitable, please call the FEMA Hotline at1-800-621-FEMA (1-800-621-3362).

For all other questions, please contact the Lafourche Parish Emergency Operations Center at (985) 537-7603 or toll free at 1-800-794-3160.

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