What you need to know if you live in Lafourche Kezia Setyawan Houma Courier-Thibodaux Daily Comet USA TODAY NETWORK
Lafourche Parish’s hurricane plans, just as last year, will take into account the ongoing coronavirus pandemic when it comes to any evacuations or storm shelters. “We will still have masks available for those who want it because we don’t know who has or hasn’t been vaccinat ed,” said parish Emergency Prepared ness Director Chris Boudreaux. State and local offi cials encourage residents to get vaccinated against CO VID19 if you haven’t already. That will minimize the risk to you and others if you end up evacuating to a storm shel ter, hotel or the home of family or friends. Agencies tasked with providing pub lic information during storms include the Lafourche Emergency Preparedness Offi ce, Sheriff ’s Offi ce, Thibodaux and Lockport police departments, Greater Lafourche Port Commission, Harbor Po lice, ambulance services, local hospitals and area fi re departments. Residents can download the Alert FM app on their smartphones for weather alerts and other emergency notifi ca tions. The Lafourche Sheriff ’s Offi ce of fers a free mobile app that can be down loaded from the Apple or Google app stores. By default, all residential landline phones are already included in the par ish’s emergency alert system and will receive an automated call if a storm evacuation is ordered. If you want to re ceive a call or text on your cellphone, register at lpso.net/news/alerts. Parish government’s social media pages, including facebook.com/Lafour chegov and twitter.com/lafourchegov, are also updated during storms. In the event of an evacuation, residents who need help getting to shelters can call emergency preparedness clerk Ann Bruno at 5328147 or brunoaf@lafour chegov.org. For hurricanes stronger than Catego ry 3, Lafourche may open shelters at any of these locations: h Central Lafourche High, 4820 La. 1, Raceland. h Thibodaux High, 1355 Tiger Drive, Thibodaux. h Raceland Recreation Center, 241
Michaela Callais, right, and her mother Rachel Callais clean up the roof of Michaela’s house in Golden Meadow on Oct. 29, 2020, a day after Hurricane Zeta hit the area. BRAD WEIMER/SPECIAL TO HOUMA COURIER-THIBODAUX DAILY COMET
Recreation Drive, Raceland. Major storms may call for an evacua tion. Those without transportation will be bused to three recreation buildings in Monroe, Boudreaux said. Residents with pets must have a carrier with them to travel on the buses. Pet carriers need to be able to fi t on a lap or bus seat. After the storm passes, the parish will decide when it’s safe for residents to return based on the severity of the damage.
Businesses can register with the par ish’s reentry system at parishreentry.com/lafourche. The site allows business owners and others to undergo prescreening when a limited number of people are allowed to return to the parish to assess damages. The parish enotifi cations, social media sites and the Alert FM app are the most eff ective ways to learn when it’s safe to return to Lafourche, offi cials said. Residents with special needs or
their caregivers are asked to call the Emergency Preparedness Offi ce at 532 8174 to set up available resources in the event of an evacuation. To fi nd out about road closures, call Louisiana State Police at 1800469 4828. For information about other ways to prepare for hurricane season, visit the Louisiana Offi ce of Emergency Pre paredness website at getagameplan. org.
