Hurricane Barry Follow Up

Evacuspot statues mark the pick-up locations where residents may go to use City-Assisted Evacuation when a mandatory evacuation is called. - Outside the Sanchez Center in the L9

“We’re beyond lucky we were spared,”

Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Sunday. “As those bands moved closer to New Orleans, they seemed to just go around us.” And we are beyond grateful that they did! The initial news reports of Hurricane Barry making its way toward the city center only days after we flooded from another storm caused a great deal of anxiety and fear. And then much relief and joy were experienced as all of the warnings were finally lifted Sunday afternoon.

Unfortunately

Hurricane Barry was not as kind to other communities outside the metro area. Over 120,000 people were left without power statewide, multiple tornadoes touched down in Livingston Parish, and 5 sections of levy lost some of their integrity in Plaquemines Parish. And finally, in Terrebone Parish levees were overtopped, and an island outside the protection system had to be evacuated when residents ignored the mandatory evacuation order.

Moving Forward

The city is grateful to have had this opportunity to test their plans and systems, as we are bound to have other storms this hurricane season. And they are thrilled to report that over 70,000 new people signed up for the city's emergency alerts, which will make us better prepared and able to receive timely storm related communication in the future.