"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[Garilyn Bardash]

Well this sucks. Was notified about 30 minutes ago that failure of a dam on the Pearl River Diversion canal is imminent. St. Tammany parish has issued mandatory evacuation for everyone on the east side of LA 41 between Bush and Hickory (north of Pearl River). I live 3/4 mile from LA 41 on the west side in Bush and therefore outside the mandatory zone. Hoping the water stays clear of me as I have too many animals to move.

People on the wrong side of the road that have no transportation are lining up waiting for buses being sent by the parish to get them. Say a prayer for all those in the way of the water.

Our prayers are with you, please stay safe!

 

[cajun backwoods]

Well this sucks. Was notified about 30 minutes ago that failure of a dam on the Pearl River Diversion canal is imminent. St. Tammany parish has issued mandatory evacuation for everyone on the east side of LA 41 between Bush and Hickory (north of Pearl River). I live 3/4 mile from LA 41 on the west side in Bush and therefore outside the mandatory zone. Hoping the water stays clear of me as I have too many animals to move.

People on the wrong side of the road that have no transportation are lining up waiting for buses being sent by the parish to get them. Say a prayer for all those in the way of the water.

we are praying for you and your family, keep us posted,

 

[1MrsMagoo]

The parish engineers along with the Army Corp have managed to stop the lock/dam above us from over topping and slowed the erosion at the sides. The sheriff, national guard, and our parish president are all on site and have made a base here in our community. They have raised the crest forecast for the Pearl River to over 19.5 feet on Monday, which will be one of the top five highest crests ever for the river.

As of now, the Army Corp has personnel monitoring the entire structure and feeding information back to their headquarters in Mississippi. So long as their was no structural damage, they feel they can keep the dam from failing at this point. The evacuation order for the 1,200 people to my east is still in place until they are certain though.

The worst thing about this though is that our local government had to fight with the Corp of Engineers to be allowed to open the valves and release the pressure which was causing the dam/lock to fail. At one point, before any corp personnel made their way here to assess the situation, they demanded that the parish engineers shut the release valves: It took the Corp 7 hours to send anyone to the site. In order for the parish engineers and sheriff to even get to the lock/dam, they had to break onto the property, which was fenced and locked. I understand the need to keep civilians away from the structure, but the parish should have access at the very least. Needless to say, a lot of the folks in my community are less than pleased with how this has been handled.

Thanks to all who have sent prayers and well wishes. Just hoping that my neighbors and community will be spared.

 

[1MrsMagoo]

Rhonda,
If you need help with anything don't hesitate to ask. You have my # and you know I'm only a hop, skip and a jump from you. I was over that way yesterday and saw my sign made it through the storm ok!!!! I stopped and got a diet coke at the Shell right there and saw it.

Chris

Thanks Chris: As always you are awesome. I haven't been as far as the Shell since the storm, but am very glad your sign made it through unscathed: I know those signs can be expensive.

As of last night the end of our entire road is full of high water vehicles from the National Guard, boats from the wildlife and fisheries, and sheriff's personnel. Since I really don't need anything at this point, I decided it is just easier to stay where I am and not try to get in their way!

 

[1MrsMagoo]

Good news. The Corp believes they have the situation under control. The parish has removed the mandatory evacuation order and replaced it with a voluntary one. Looks like we may have dodged the bullet. Good thing the local person who saw what was happening at the lock yesterday reported it: They averted a potential disaster.

 

[Gracie9205]

I didn't think I was interested in the sizzles until I picked some up from Chris today. OMG are they awesome! Thanks again Chris!

 

[Garilyn Bardash]

The parish engineers along with the Army Corp have managed to stop the lock/dam above us from over topping and slowed the erosion at the sides. The sheriff, national guard, and our parish president are all on site and have made a base here in our community. They have raised the crest forecast for the Pearl River to over 19.5 feet on Monday, which will be one of the top five highest crests ever for the river.

As of now, the Army Corp has personnel monitoring the entire structure and feeding information back to their headquarters in Mississippi. So long as their was no structural damage, they feel they can keep the dam from failing at this point. The evacuation order for the 1,200 people to my east is still in place until they are certain though.

The worst thing about this though is that our local government had to fight with the Corp of Engineers to be allowed to open the valves and release the pressure which was causing the dam/lock to fail. At one point, before any corp personnel made their way here to assess the situation, they demanded that the parish engineers shut the release valves: It took the Corp 7 hours to send anyone to the site. In order for the parish engineers and sheriff to even get to the lock/dam, they had to break onto the property, which was fenced and locked. I understand the need to keep civilians away from the structure, but the parish should have access at the very least. Needless to say, a lot of the folks in my community are less than pleased with how this has been handled.

Thanks to all who have sent prayers and well wishes. Just hoping that my neighbors and community will be spared.

hope you don't mind if hubby sends this to washington!

 

[1MrsMagoo]

hope you don't mind if hubby sends this to washington!

I don't mind one bit. It is sad when red tape gets in the way of common sense.

 

[TerriLaChicks]

Good news. The Corp believes they have the situation under control. The parish has removed the mandatory evacuation order and replaced it with a voluntary one. Looks like we may have dodged the bullet. Good thing the local person who saw what was happening at the lock yesterday reported it: They averted a potential disaster.

so glad there is a positive outcome to this mess.

 

[1MrsMagoo]

so glad there is a positive outcome to this mess.

Thanks..the folks here in Bush are happy about it to be sure.

I just hope that the Corp and Parish can come to some understanding for the future. Since these locks and the canal are no longer used, they are no longer staffed and rarely monitored other than scheduled safety inspections. It was a local resident that first raised the warning about what was happening there yesterday. Had they not seen what was going on, nobody would have known until the thing failed and sent a wall of water down the canal. That person should be given some sort of commendation by the parish for their service to this community.