FOX 8 News received the following update from the Mayor's Office at 2:23 Tuesday morning:
As of 2a.m. the City is notifying residents that all non-emergency personnel should stay off of Lakeshore Drive, including the flood gates, levees, and roadways. Lakeshore Drive is currently closed to the public. Any civilian in violation of this order is subject to arrest by Levee District Police for trespassing.
The Mayor's Office released the following news release late Monday night:
NEW ORLEANS, LA— At 11:00 p.m. Monday, August 27, the City of New Orleans provided an update on the City's readiness in advance of Tropical Storm Isaac potential landfall in southeast Louisiana on Tuesday.
At this time, there is no mandatory evacuation order for New Orleans. Mayor Landrieu has strongly encouraged residents who live outside the City's levee protection system or in low-lying areas (like Venetian Isles and Irish Bayou) to get to higher ground. Residents who live inside the levee system that have not left the city should prepare to take shelter with essential supplies including food, water, and medications. Residents will need to prepare to be self-sufficient for at least three days in the event of street flooding and power outages.
The City will not operate shelters of last resort. However, four local homeless shelters have added additional capacity to serve homeless residents.
LATEST UPDATES
GREATER NEW ORLEANS HURRICANE RISK REDUCTION SYSTEM (HSDRRS)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has closed the following flood protection structures:
• Downman Road flood gate
• Lakeshore Drive flood gate
• 2 of the 3 gates at the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Surge Barrier
REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY (RTA)
RTA bus service will end at 4:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 28. Streetcar service was shut down at 2 p.m. on Monday, August 27.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT
At 12 midnight, the Health Department will stop transfers of citizens with medical special needs that had previously registered to be evacuated. At this time, approximately 50 residents were evacuated to other parts of the state.
PARKING
City crews will not be performing street cleaning or towing tomorrow, August 28th, allowing residents to park on streets, particularly in the French Quarter, Central Business District or where signage indicates when street cleaning would typically occur.
Earlier this evening the City provided the following updates:
PUBLIC SAFETY
"All public safety agencies are fully operational and prepared to respond to any storm-related situation," said Lt. Col. Jerry Sneed, Deputy Mayor of Public Safety. The City's Emergency Operation Center is now working on 24/7 until further notice. Additionally, the City's 311 service is operating 24/7 for general information and to report non-life threatening emergencies such as:
• Storm preparation information
• Sidewalk and road problems
• Debris
Residents should call 911 ONLY for life-threatening emergencies.
NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT
The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has activated its hurricane preparedness plan, and is fully ready to protect people and property in neighborhoods and business district. The NOPD will ticket motorists who drive faster than 5 mph on streets with standing water.
NEW ORLEANS FIRE DEPARTMENT
The New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD) is fully staffed and prepared to respond to emergencies involving fire, water or hazardous materials. Additionally, the NOFD Urban Search and Rescue team is on standby in the event that it is needed. NOFD encourages residents to practice generator safety by operating them only in well-ventilated areas, away from doors, windows and vent openings. The NOFD also urges residents to use candles and kerosene lamps safely and never leave them unattended.
ORLEANS PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE
The Sheriff's office has relocated 1,037 inmates from the Temporary Jail (tents) and Temporary Detention Center to state corrections facilities.
ANIMAL CONTROL
Until further notice, the SPCA will be on emergency response only. The SPCA has suspended adoptions and is evacuating adoptable pets to Dallas. Residents are advised to take necessary precautions to safeguard their pets at home or during evacuations.
HOMELESS SHELTERS
The following shelters will be available for homeless persons on Monday, August 27:
• New Orleans Mission, 1130 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, take in at 4 p.m. (adults only: ages 18 and over) 504-270-4967.
• Ozanam Inn, 843 Camp Street, take in beginning at 6 p.m. (males only) 504-523-1184.
• Covenant House, 611 N. Rampart Street, take in underway (males and females ages 16-21 and females of any age with children) 504-523-1111.
• St. Jude, 400 N. Rampart St., take in beginning at 5 p.m. (males and females) 504-931-6993.
Other Ground Transportation
• Greyhound will have its last outgoing bus at 9:30 p.m. and last incoming bus at 11:00 p.m. on Monday.
• Amtrak's last train, The Crescent, is scheduled to arrive around 7:30 p.m. on Monday. There will be no outgoing service for the next 48 hours.
SANITATION
Sanitation Department contractors will have regular pickups on Monday, but will not pick up trash on Tuesday and Wednesday. Once trash is picked up on Monday, residents should secure all trash bins.
SEWERAGE & WATER BOARD
All 24 Sewerage & Water Board pumps are 100% operational and backup generators at the Sewerage & Water Board Plant are active.
PARKING
The City is allowing residents to secure their vehicles on the neutral ground throughout the weather event.
ENTERGY
Entergy has activated its emergency response center, prestaged all equipment and activated mutual assistance agreements with other agencies. Customers are encouraged to go to www.entergy.com to sign up for text messages. Residents may call 1-800-9OUTAGE to report outages or downed power lines.
PUBLIC WORKS
The department of Public Works has contractors and staff on standby for road repair and debris removal. Multiple crews on Sunday began cleaning out catch basins.
SCHOOL CLOSURES
Orleans Parish School Board, Recovery School District and Archdiocese of New Orleans schools are closed through Wednesday, August 29.
Tulane University, Dillard University, Southern University at New Orleans and The University of New Orleans will be closed through Wednesday, August 29. Xavier University and Our Lady of Holy Cross College will close through Thursday, August. 30.
LIBRARIES
New Orleans Public Library locations will be closed through Tuesday, August 28. Mid-week weather conditions will determine operating hours for the remainder of the week.
NEW ORLEANS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
All airlines are going to cease operations at the end of the schedule today. There will be no flights for Tuesday, August 28th. The Airport is not an evacuation shelter and people will not be allowed to stay in terminal during the storm. Travelers are encouraged to check individual airlines websites for latest information.
VISITOR ATTRACTIONS
New Orleans hotels remain open. City officials are in contact with hotels and conventions in town in order to ensure safety of New Orleans visitors as well as New Orleans residents. The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau provide hospitality industry updates on their webpage at https://www.facebook.com/NewOrleansCVB
RESIDENT PRECAUTIONS
• Prepare to shelter in place with supplies needed in the event of loss of water and/ or power.
• Clean or clear catch basins near your home.
• Check on your neighbors and the elderly to make sure they have plans in place.
• Bring in or secure any loose objects outside.
• Board up your windows or hatch down shutters.
EMERGENCY SUPPLY KITS
According to Emergency Preparedness officials, families should build an emergency supply kit at home that includes:
• Water (one gallon per person, per day for at least 3 days)
• Non-perishable food (three-day supply for evacuation)
• Non-electric can opener for food
• Radio (battery-powered or hand crank)
• Flashlights
• Batteries
• First aid kit (medications and medical supplies, seven-day supply)
• Whistle
• Dust masks
• Sanitation items
• Personal hygiene items
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Maps
• Important family documents
READY.NOLA.GOV
Citizens are encouraged to sign up for email and text message alerts by going to http://new.nola.gov/ready. This service allows city officials to contact citizens during emergencies, which includes life-threatening weather events, evacuation or shelter in place information, and other pertinent emergency information. In addition to the website, the City operates a twitter handle: @nolaready.
IMPORTANT NUMBERS TO KNOW
• For life threatening emergencies, call 911
• To report a non-life threatening problem or to get information, call 311
• Non-life threatening crime, call 504-821-2222
• Sewerage and Water Boards 24/7 line, call 504-529-2837
• To report power outages, call 1-800-968-8243 (1-800-9OUTAGE)
• Report levee issues on the East Bank to Orleans Levee District Police at 504-283-9800 and on the West Bank call the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority West at 504-340-0318
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) - New Orleans residents scrambled Monday to stockpile food, fuel and other supplies as they prepared to ride out a storm that was due to arrive on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said the city is ready to face Isaac. He urged about 900 residents who live outside levee protection in eastern New Orleans to evacuate, but he ruled out a mandatory evacuation of the city inside the levee system.
"There is a point beyond which a mandatory evacuation would not be possible. I believe that we're at that point," Landrieu said at an afternoon news conference.
Earlier Monday, the mayor said a mandatory evacuation would come if Isaac attained Category 3 strength on the 5-point Saffir-Simpson scale. Instead, he urged residents to hunker down and make due with supplies on hand.
"Notwithstanding the fact that we are not expecting a Katrina-like event - that is, breaking the levees and that kind of flooding in the city - a Category 1 and a Category 2 storm can bring significant damage," Landrieu said.
Still, several residents were on the roads heading west as Isaac's unpredictability spurred many people to flee the area. One driver told WWL-TV that it took her four hours to get from downtown New Orleans to Kenner, a drive that usually would take about 30 minutes.
A steady stream of cars headed out of town, jamming I-10 westbound. State police urged motorists to be patient and to be prepared for traffic backups Tuesday as well.
As Isaac moved steadily toward Louisiana, residents geared up for what has become an almost familiar Labor Day week event.
On Sunday, Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency, and officials in some coastal parishes either ordered evacuations or strongly suggested people leave low-lying areas, particularly among coastal parishes.
"Today is the day to move," Jindal said at a news conference Monday at City Hall in New Orleans.
More than 4,100 Louisiana National guardsmen have been deployed throughout the state to respond to the storm and its aftermath, Jindal said.
Grocery and home improvement stores as well as fuel stations reported brisk business. Some gas stations were running out of supplies.
Harvey Burns, 55, was filling up his vehicle so his son, a Marine, could drive to Galveston, Texas, later Monday. It wasn't an evacuation, just a pre-existing plan to head to school. Burns planned to stay in New Orleans and ride out the storm at home.
"It's not a big deal right now. It's a tropical storm. It's kind of hyped up because of the timing of it," he said, alluding to the storm's expected landfall by Wednesday, Katrina's seventh anniversary.
Cheryl Chen, 25, was gassing up her car to drive to the airport to catch a flight Monday night to Virginia to be with her boyfriend. She planned to leave Tuesday, but her flight was canceled. She's been working at a New Orleans hotel for the past six months or so and has never experienced a hurricane before.
"That's why I'm so freaked out," she said.
John Corll, 59, a carpenter, rode out Hurricane Katrina seven years ago and was preparing for a milder storm.
"I gassed up - truck and generator," Corll said as he walked out of a New Orleans coffee shop Monday morning.
He expressed confidence that the area's levee system - rebuilt with billions of federal dollars after Katrina - will withstand Isaac.
And he thinks emergency management officials have a better handle on the situation than when Katrina struck in August 2005.
"I think the state and local governments are much better prepared for the storm surge and emergencies," he said.
An estimated 80 percent of New Orleans was flooded during Katrina when it struck on Aug. 29, 2005. Damage and death was extensive across southern sections of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and rebuilding costs soared into the many billions of dollars.
Adding to the Labor Day week mystique, in 2011, Tropical Storm Lee struck and Hurricane Gustav hit over the Labor Day holiday in 2008.
While Isaac was not expected to approach Katrina's strength - or Gustav's - forecasters said it should bring high winds, heavy rain and a storm surge of up to 12 feet into coastal Louisiana and Mississippi. On its projected path, it would drive inland, possibly bringing heavy rain to drought-parched heartland states.
The Coast Guard said barges were being moved inland on the Mississippi River. Ship traffic was halted at the river's mouth on Sunday night.
Officials at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport said flights were continuing, but carriers such as Southwest, United and American were planning to cancel flights on Tuesday.
Some school systems and universities in southeast Louisiana were closed through Wednesday or were considering closures.
Jefferson Parish President John Young said the New Orleans suburb is preparing for Isaac but expects that pumping and levee improvements made since Katrina will be adequate to deal with Isaac.
In coastal Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes, parish officials were distributing sandbags to residents to shore up their properties.
State transportation officials suspended tolls on the Louisiana Highway 1 bridge in Lafourche Parish to help with coastal evacuation. Tolls also were suspended on the Crescent City Connection, the bridge that links downtown New Orleans with communities on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Mayor Mitch Landrieu, speaking at a Monday news conference with Gov. Bobby Jindal and other city and state authorities
