While Hurricane Isaac tracked over Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes, tropical storm winds topped out at 58 mph at the Baton Rouge Metro Airport this morning, Mayor Kip Holden says.
“This is the beginning of what could be at least a 24-hour period dominated by tropical storm-force winds for East Baton Rouge Parish,” says Holden, who was among officials hosting a press conference at the Mayor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness this morning.
The track of Isaac remains uncertain, Holden says, but the National Hurricane Center suggests that Isaac could pass to the west of the Capital Region, “putting our parish in the more dangerous side of the storm track.” Holden says the region can expect 12 to 15 inches of rain over the next two days, “given the slow, forward motion of Hurricane Isaac.”
While Baker and Zachary have imposed curfews, Baton Rouge has not.
“When we call a curfew, I promise you, you will be the first to know,” Holden says. “And that curfew will cover a number of areas.”
The mayor’s office and the sheriff’s office are watching for large power outages, people who may be going into those areas, flooding, and road closures.
“All four of those will be determining factors as to when we will implement a curfew that is parishwide,” Holden says.
The mayor says some isolated areas could experience more than 15 inches of rain. With back-flooding occurring where rivers empty into Lake Maurepas and Lake Ponchartrain, the mayor suggests some rivers could flood in the northern and eastern sections of the parish.
“We are particularly concerned about the Amite and the Comite [rivers],” Holden says.
Fire departments in the city-parish handed out 174,000 sand bags on Tuesday, Holden says, but that distribution was suspended today. Due to high winds that could reach 75 mph in the region, the mayor stresses that traveling should be avoided except in cases of extreme emergency. People, he says, “need to take immediate steps to ensure the safety of themselves, their families and their pets. Do not panic, but prepare.”
