Mayor Landrieu Declares State of
Emergency in New Orleans Following Tornado and Provides Update
NEW
ORLEANS – Today, Mayor
Mitch Landrieu declared a state of emergency for the City of New Orleans after the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched
down in New Orleans East.
Emergency
crews are working around the clock to respond to resident calls. Approximately
250 properties were severely damaged over the 2-2.5 mile tornado path. Below is
a list of efforts the City and its partners have undertaken since the tornado
touchdown. Residents are urged to monitor ready.nola.gov for up-to-date
information.
Public Safety
At
this time, there are no reported fatalities. Thirty-one injuries have been
reported, six of them being moderate to severe injuries.
Public
safety teams have completed one full search and rescue sweep of the impacted area
and have begun a second. Throughout the evening and overnight, officers will
continue a highly visible multiagency unified patrol including assistance from
the LA National Guard, who have committed 150 troops to cover 24 hour patrols.
Temporary Shelter
The
City has opened a temporary shelter at Joe W. Brown Recreation Center (5601
Read Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70127) for impacted residents. Resources for pets are also provided but
they will not be guaranteed shelter within the facility. Food, water, cots and
blankets are available to those who utilize the shelter overnight.
The New
Orleans Health Department, with support from the Red
Cross, Catholic Charities and NOFD, is providing basic medical care and
prescription assistance. Starting tomorrow, food, water and cleaning supplies
will be available for pick up. The Joe Brown Park shelter is NOT able to
directly accept food, clothing, other donations or volunteers at this
time.
Entergy
Entergy
estimates that approximately 9,400 Orleans Parish residents are currently
without power. Crews are working around the clock and expect to have all power
restored in 3 to 5 days. Tomorrow, 150 restoration workers from surrounding
areas will assist in recovery efforts.
Customers
are encouraged to go to www.entergy.com to
sign up for text messages. Residents may call 1-800-9OUTAGE to report
outages or downed power lines.
School Closures
·
Martin
Luther King Elementary & High school
·
Joseph
A. Craig Charter School
·
ReNew
Schaumburg Elementary
·
Einstein
Sherwood Forest Elementary
·
Einstein
Campus
·
Einstein
High School
Transportation
The
Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in New Orleans East has been greatly impacted
by the tornado and a number of detours are in place. The detours are as
follows:
· Bus Route 64-LakeForest
Outbound
Vehicles travelling farther into the eastern neighborhoods toward Michoud will
depart from Walmart make a U-turn to I-10 East, continue to 510, busses will
exit at Chef Menteur Hwy. and return to regular route from this point.
Inbound
vehicles travelling toward downtown will depart Michoud, travel to Chef
Menteur Hwy to 510, continue to I-10 West to Bullard exit then take a left on
Bullard to Walmart and return to regular route.
No
service will be provided on Bullard between Lake Forest and Chef Menteur
Highway at this time.
· Bus Route 65-Crowder/Read Boulevards
Outbound
Vehicles travelling farther into the eastern neighborhoods toward Michoud will
depart from Walmart make a U-turn to I-10 East, continue to 510, busses will
exit at Chef Menteur Hwy. and return to regular route from this point.
Inbound
vehicles travelling toward downtown will depart Michoud, travel
Chef Menteur Hwy to 510, continue to I-10 West to Bullard exit then
take a left on Bullard to Walmart and return to regular route.
No
service will be provided on Bullard between Lake Forest and Chef Menteur
Highway at this time.
· Bus Route 94-Broad Street
Service
will terminate at Chef Menteur and Chantilly Drive.
No
service will be provided between intersection of Chef Menteur/Chantilly to
intersection of Chef Menteur/Michoud.
· RTA Shuttle Service to shelter at Joe
Brown Park:
RTA
is providing shuttle service to the shelter in Joe Brown Park for residents
without transportation.
Pick
up points for Shelter Shuttle Service are as follows:
o
Dwyer
Road and Wilson Avenue
o
Dwyer
Road and Crowder Boulevard
o
Dwyer
Road and Wright Road
RTA does have a
Paratransit vehicle available if needed for residents requiring special transit
services. For more information visit us online at www.norta.com
or call our customer care Rideline at 504-248-3900.
Other
City Services
Sewerage and
Water Board of New Orleans has dispatched several crews to New Orleans East to
assess tornado-related damages to homes and businesses. Currently, seventeen
sewer pump stations are being transitioned to generator power so they can be up
and running tonight. This power outage
had no effect on the Carrollton Water Plant, which supplies the city's tap
water. The city's water is safe to drink.
Calls for
downed trees, street lights, street signs and other matters should be directed
to 311.
Short Term and Long Term Housing
The
Red Cross in partnership with other service providers will be on site at Joe
Brown Park to take initial assessments for short term and long term housing
needs.
Volunteers
& Donations
Residents looking to support ongoing relief & recovery efforts are
encouraged to contact one of the organizations below. Additional information on donation drives and
volunteer opportunities will be shared as received. Again, the shelter at Joe
Brown Park is NOT able to accept food, clothing, other donations or volunteers
at this time.
· The Greater
New Orleans Foundation has activated the Helping Our Neighbors: Tornado
Relief. Donations can be made online at
https://www.gnof.org/helping-our-neighbors-tornado-relief-fund/.
· United Way of
Southeast Louisiana is accepting monetary donations & seeking
volunteers. More information can be
found at: http://www.unitedwaysela.org/tornadorelief.
READY.NOLA.GOV
Citizens are
encouraged to sign up for email and text message alerts by going to http://ready.nola.gov. This service allows
city officials to contact citizens during emergencies, which includes
life-threatening weather events, evacuation or shelter in place information,
and other pertinent emergency information. In addition to the website, the City
operates a twitter handle: @nolaready.
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