The following is Gustav update information as of September 4 at 10:00 pm. With so many people in the city without power, yet returning, it is likely that they will require assitance from the distribution centers after their return.
City Hall will reopen on September 8, 2008.
LEVEES
·The Industrial Canal’s levee at Florida Avenue was damaged when it was struck by a barge that remained in the canal during Hurricane Gustav.There has been no breech in the levee.There is no structural integrity damage to the levee itself.
·For further information, visit the Port of New Orleans website atports/waterways: www.portno.com
OFFICE OF RECOVERY
·Dr. Blakely and the recovery staff are working to open three (3) distribution centers to hand out food, water, and ice. These distribution areas will be managed by the National Guard.
CITY OPERATIONAL UPDATES
REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY
·RTA will begin transporting returning residents from Union Passenger Terminal (UPT) tomorrow morning at 8a.m.RTA will support the re-entry process with forty buses and 50 para-transit buses:
·RTA service along routes in the City will begin once the re-entry program has completed.The City will announce when the routes are on normal service.
AIRPORT
·Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is open and operational.
POSTAL SERVICES
·Mail delivery resumed today.
HEALTH
·All hospitals are currently open in Orleans Parish, and all emergency rooms are open.
·Mobile medical units will be set up at the Union Passenger Terminal in order to assist citizens re-entering the City through the city assisted re-entry program.
ELECTRICITY
·Entergy expects to have 90% of power in by Saturday evening.
·62,415 Entergy New Orleans customers remain without power.
·Thirteen of the fourteen transmission circuits that supply power to Entergy New Orleans were damaged during the storm. At least one additional transmission line was brought on line today. Energy infrastructure is still the most critical link that limits restoration at this time.An exact restoration time for these transmission lines is not known.
·Entergy New Orleans (ENO) has opened Customer Information Centers (CIC) at its Customer Care Centers at 4021 Behrman Highway, and 3400 Canal Street. ENO is also opening a portable CIC in New Orleans East (Location to be determined) on Monday. CIC locations at ENO’S Customer Care Centers are now open from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. CIC locations will also be open on Sunday from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m.
·If your neighbor has power and you do not, please call 800-9-OUTAGE.
SEWERAGE & WATER BOARD
·All drainage pumping stations are operating as normal.
·Water is safe to drink.
AT & T
·All cell phone towers are back up and operational.
PARK AND PARKWAYS
·The Department of Parks and Parkways is currently in the process of clearing downed trees throughout the City.
·If a tree falls on a home, Parks and Parkways will remove, cut, and stack the tree pieces.
·Citizens are asked to place all debris (grass, trees, and leaves) on curbside and not neutral grounds.
BRIDGES
·St. Claude Bridge is the only one in service in the parish that has an operator.
·Florida Avenue Bridge is not operational.
·All other bridges over the Industrial Canal are out of service at this time to vehicle traffic until further notice.
SANITATION
·39 collection crews working throughout the City in continuing emergency debris removal.
·80% of vegetation debris has been removed and will continue until completed.
·All sanitation services have resumed.
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
·250 out of 450 downed traffic lights are operational.
·Please continue to use precaution when approaching intersections with signals.
MUNICIPAL COURT
·Will open on Monday.
NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT
·1,100 National Guard troops are in the City for increased security as residents re-enter New Orleans.
·63 burglaries were reported in the past 24 hours, of which:
otwo (2) were of businesses.
onine (9)were for looting.
·There have been a total of 14 looting arrests this evening.
NEW ORLEANS FIRE DEPARTMENT
·All fire houses are open.
·There was one (1) electrical fire today.
·Officials have completed inspections of 80% of high rises in the CBD.
·Superintendent Parent is urging citizens to be careful using generators in the homes. See www.cityofno.comfor safety tips.
NEW ORLEANS EMS
·Over the past three days since landfall of Hurricane Gustav, there has been an increase in requests for assistance.
oSeptember 1, 2008 – there were 21 calls.
oSeptember 2, 2008 – there were 39 calls.
oSeptember 3, 2008 – there were 57 calls.
oSeptember 4, 2008 – there were 46 calls as of 9:00 p.m.
·Still asking citizen with special needs to delay returning until services have returned to normal.
311 CALL CENTER
·The 311 Call Center continues to operate 24 hours a day from the San Antonio, Texas emergency location. Citizens can call: 1-866-205-6485.
·Citizens are asked to report downed trees, non-functional traffic lights, and missing/damaged street signs to 311.
·The City will clean downtown until staff from the Downtown Development District return on Monday.
LOUISIANA SPCA
·Louisiana SPCA has re-opened.Please call 504-368-5191 x100 for information on retrieving pets.
RE-ENTRY
·Today, the City of New Orleans allowed all residents to return to the city, thereby lifting the mandatory evacuation to a voluntary evacuation.
·The City of New Orleans will continue to have curfew from dusk until dawn until further notice. This is for the safety of the citizens due to power outages and potential hazards from Hurricane Gustav.
I appreciate the info and stories aimed at N.O area, but what about the parishes that actually sustained real damage from Gustav? For example, Terrebonne Parish is completely without power, with expectations at two to three weeks before power is restored, and no one has been allowed to go into the parish to view their property until Friday, Sept.5. There are serious problems in Houma and further south, and while N.O. gets electricity, we are sitting on the side of Hwy 90, waiting to view our property. I hope that citizens of other parishes think to help those in the coastal ones, as residents of Lafourche and Terrebonne did during Katrina. I also hope that the local media begin to shift focus on recovery of the areas that need the attention. Written by Stephanie
on 9/5/2008
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