BATON ROUGE – Today, Governor Bobby Jindal gave an update on state preparedness efforts surrounding the impact of Hurricane Ike in Southwest Louisiana.

Governor Jindal said that the state is continuing to monitor the track of the storm and has already deployed resources throughout the day to rescue people in need of help.

Governor Jindal said, “For many of these low-lying areas in the track of Hurricane Ike, the safest course would have been for our people to evacuate, but now that they are remaining in their communities, our focus has shifted to rescuing people when they need our help and monitoring their situation and the intensity of the storm so we can save lives wherever needed. Our top priority is saving lives.”

NATIONAL GUARD/WILDLIFE/POLICE OPERTATIONS

((PLEASE NOTE – some of these details were from preliminary reports on the ground before the Governor’s briefing at 7:30 PM.))

Governor Jindal reported that the Louisiana National Guard has pre-positioned troops, equipment, commodities, and recovery assets throughout Southwest Louisiana, and more than 3,000 guardsmen are staged in locations outside the storm’s impact area in preparation for repose efforts following the storm. National Guard helicopters are staged in Baton Rouge, Hammond and Pineville to provide immediate over-flights of the southwest parishes to support local and state authorities in conducting immediate damage assessments and to conduct search and rescue operations, where needed. Additionally, National Guard communications teams have been deployed to southwest parishes to provide uninterrupted communication with parish emergency management directors.

Governor Jindal said that as of his briefing, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries had rescued 179 people across coastal Louisiana and one dog. The Governor added that the state was fully ready to conduct rescue operations through the night (as the weather allows) and would begin to assess areas through the night with nigh-vision helicopters. Aggressive assessment and search and rescue missions will intensify at daybreak and continue on throughout Saturday and into the weekend, as needed.

The Governor said the state’s search and rescue resources include 707 people, 418 boats, 21 helicopters, an additional 18 National Guard helicopters, and two planes. Additionally, the state has 15 buses in Alexandria, 25 in Chennault and 15 in Lafayette to help move people to safety, in support of search and rescue operations, as needed.

Governor Jindal said that the state assisted 1,571 people in evacuating, including 77 people in Vermillion Parish and 1,494 people in Calcasieu (where 1,900 people were assisted in evacuating during Hurricane Gustav).

Acadia Parish

National Guard has 466 personnel in the parish. Equipment: 6 Zodiac boat teams, 2 bridge boat teams, 9 engineer work teams, 6 engineer assessment teams, 82 high water rescue vehicles, approximate-27 dump trucks, 9 HMMV’s, 9 Loaders, 9 LMTV’s.

Cameron Parish

The Louisiana National Guard (LANG) has over 40 soldiers deployed to Cameron Parish.  14 Soldiers with two high-water vehicles are staged in Hackberry and 23 Soldiers with four high-water vehicles staged at Gibbstown for search and rescue missions.

LANG has also sent a high-water vehicle from just north of the Ellender Bridge to Hackberry to rescue a citizen from a car, where the water is reported to be waist deep. LANG guardsmen rescued a stranded motorist that was attempting to evacuate from Hackberry.

National Guardsmen also rescued an 8-year-old old boy from Cameron who was transported to the Kelso Bayou Bridge in Hackberry and reunited with his father.

Calcasieu Parish

National Guard has 545 soldiers there. Equipment: 69 high water rescue vehicles, 2 boat teams, 3 engineer assessment teams, 7 engineer work teams, 50 high water vehicles, approximately 24 dump trucks, 7 LMTV’s, 7 loaders, and 7 HMMVs.

The National Guard also has 11 Soldiers and five 5-ton vehicles in Carlyss standing by for search and rescue if needed. Soldiers are continuing security missions in Calcasieu Parish.

Iberia Parish

The National Guard has 120 soldiers there and 9 high water rescue vehicles. The Guard rescued seven civilians and then transported them to Iberia Middle School.

Jefferson Parish

The National Guard has 139 soldiers there, two engineer teams, 58 high water rescue vehicles, 2 LMTV’s, 2 HMMV’s, 28 dump trucks, and 2 loaders. National Guard Soldiers are ready to assist with emergency operations near Grand Isle and Leeville when water levels subside. 

Lafourche 

There are 229 National Guardsmen in the parish.

Orleans Parish

There are 669 National Guardsmen in the parish and 26 high water rescue vehicles.

Plaquemines Parish

There are 220 National Guardsmen, 8 High water rescue vehicles, 7 HMMV’s, 7 Loaders, and 28 dump trucks in the parish. Additionally, there are 143 guardsmen conducting sandbagging operations on the east bank of Plaquemines Parish vicinity of the Back Bay or non-federal levees.  The National Guard has partnered with the parish to reduce scour and overtopping conditions. LANG has placed more than 28,000 sandbags, and at some locations sandbags are triple stacked.  The levees appear to be holding and the water is beginning to recede.  These operations are along the Braithwaite and Scarsdale levees.

Wildlife and Fisheries search teams rescued 24 people with assistance from the sheriff’s office today, and 11 were rescued from the Hopedale/Shell Beach area (20 people were reported there earlier today, but it was only 11 and they were rescued).

St. Tammany

There are 130 Guardsmen in the parish.

Department of Wildlife of Fisheries reports that they rescued one dog and 34 people today outside Slidell, and another 15 people from a trailer park in Slidell.

St. Mary Parish

There are 40 guardsmen in the parish and a high water rescue vehicle (other vehicles backed down in numbers to a safe haven to ride out the hurricane and will be waiting for movement after the storm.)

National Guard Soldiers and first responders are assisting with the mandatory evacuation of St. Mary Parish. Search and rescue assets are located at the St. Mary Sheriff's Office. There is 24 inches of water in lower parish areas and are expected to be flooded by the day's end.   

Terrebonne Parish

There are 150 guardsmen and a high water rescue vehicle in the parish (vehicles have been backed down in numbers to a safe haven to ride out the hurricane and will be waiting for movement after the storm).

Wildlife search teams rescued 45 people from high water in the parish today, and two others from being trapped on Robinson Canal Bridge, by boat.

Vermillion Parish

There are 150 guardsmen in the parish and 19 high water rescue vehicles.

COMMODITIES

The National Guard has positioned food and water in key areas of Southwest Louisiana, in preparation for evacuation operations, shelter support and hurricane response operations. Currently, the Guard has on-hand and ready for distribution more than 300,000 meals, 500,000 bottles of water, and 500,000 pounds of ice. Relief supplies have been pre-positioned throughout the state, including more than 2.7 million meals, 4.7 million bottles of water, and 3.6 million pounds of ice.

SHELTERS

The Governor repeated this evening that the state does have additional shelter capacity to help those who may still need to be moved to safety. Additionally, Red Cross shelters are housing an estimated 400 to 600 Texas evacuees.

Also, the Governor reported that due to rising waters and winds, 68 roads have closed in coastal Louisiana. A full update on road conditions is available by calling 511 or visiting www.511LA.org.

((More timely updates included in the Governor’s briefing on levees is being released through the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities.))