When do they leave?

The St. Charles Parish Emergency Operations Center has called a mandatory evacuation for both East and West Bank residents as of 6 p.m. Aug. 26 due to the threat of dangerous storm surge and winds from Isaac. (For a list of recommended evacuation routes, visit www.stcharlesparish-la.gov/hurricane.)

Residents are asked to leave as soon as possible before the onset of deteriorating weather conditions beginning early Tuesday morning. Through the duration of the storm the parish expects to experience widespread power outages for an extended duration as well as a loss of emergency and parish services. This also includes the potential loss of all sewer and water services.

The EOC is fully active and taking actions in preparation for Tropical Storm Isaac, which is currently forecast to make landfall as a strong category 2 hurricane near the Louisiana / Mississippi state line on late Tuesday.

The parish expects to see the potential of 105 mph winds with higher gusts and extremely hazardous surges. The parish is currently under a hurricane warning. Pump stations will be monitored 24/7 throughout the storm, with the majority of pump stations having the ability to be monitored and controlled remotely.

St. Charles is urging residents to use social networks, family and neighbors to secure transportation out of the parish. However, those needing to make use of the parish's assisted evacuation program should call EOC IMMEDIATELY at (985) 783-5050. Bus pickups will take place Monday between 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Evacuees are limited to two bags – one carry-on size and one personal item. Those bringing pets should provide a labeled carrier, vaccination documentation and any pet medications.

Special needs assistance may be requested by calling (985) 783-5050.

GRAND ISLE, La. - Grand Isle has called for a mandatory evacuation of campers and tourists immediately (1:30 p.m.).

All island residents are required to leave by 9 a.m. Monday.

NEW ORLEANS - Mayor Mitch Landrieu has declared a state of emergency over what is now Tropical Storm Isaac, which is forecast to become a hurricane before making landfall sometime late Tuesday night or early Wednesday.

Landrieu said there will be another press announcement at noon Monday, but as of this time, there is no call for evacuation based on the information they have at this time.

Mayor Landrieu: The thing that troubles me the most about this storm is that it’s so close to us. In the event that it moves to a much, much stronger storm--which we don’t have any indication it’s going to but we want to prepare for the worst—then it would put us in some trouble. Until then ,we want to watch it very ,very closely and tell people to be prepared. Be prepared to shelter in place because that’s what it looks like it’s going to be now. But of course these things can change overnight. If you’re able to leave, if you feel uncomfortable, if you’ve been through one of these before, now would be a great time to go.

Moore: Don’t we normally start looking at evacuations at 36 hours? Isn’t it too late?

Mayor Landrieu: Well that’s a good question. I don’t think it’s too late at this point but I think sometime tomorrow during the middle of the day, it will get to be where it is too late. And that’s one of the most dangerous things about this storm. Because it’s been so unpredictable, because it’s taken such a long time to form, because it’s so close to us, that could pose a problem in the event something that we don’t’expect happens in the middle of the night. That’s why, again, the governor and I both want to get ahead of this, let people know.

Mandatory evacuations outside New Orleans as Isaac nears

Updated at 12:40 p.m. ET: Residents in unprotected, low-lying areas outside New Orleans were evacuating Monday as Tropical Storm Isaac threatened to strengthen into a hurricane that could make landfall in or near Louisiana almost seven years to the day after Hurricane Katrina struck.

It's "trying to form an eye-like feature" but it's "still a little bit shy of hurricane status," National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb said in a morning update.

At 65 mph, Isaac was just nine miles short of hurricane status and that should happen within the next 24 hours, Knabb added.

The governors of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi declared states of emergency as a hurricane warning went into effect for a roughly 300-mile stretch of the Gulf Coast in four states from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.

"Tonight is when the conditions will start to go downhill" ahead of landfall by Tuesday night, Knabb said.

The National Hurricane Center was no longer forecasting a Category 2 hurricane on landfall, but instead a weaker Category 1. Still, Isaac will probably move slowly inland, possibly dumping as much as 18 inches of rain in places, Knabb said.

"That's going to be the big problem," NBC meteorologist Al Roker said on TODAY. "We're talking about potentially 24 hours of hurricane force winds and heavy rain."

"Storm surge is going to be a big, big problem," he added. "Six to twelve feet above normal as you get to New Orleans. Panama City is about four to seven feet."

Related: Follow Isaac's path with our storm tracker

The hurricane warning area runs from Morgan City, La., westward to Destin, Fla. It includes New Orleans, which was devastated when Hurricane Katrina swept over the city on August 29, 2005, killing more than 1,800 people and causing billions of dollars of damage along the coast. A hurricane hasn't hit the Gulf Coast since Ike in 2008.

Sensing a state of "high anxiety" across New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu noted the irony of Isaac's arrival. "The timing, as fate would have it, on the anniversary of Katrina has everybody in a state of alertness, but that is a good thing," he said.

If Isaac makes landfall a bit west of New Orleans, that puts the city in the northeast quadrant of the storm, Roker noted, "and that's the worst place" for storm impact.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered Monday morning for "our low-lying areas — those outside the hurricane protection system — such as Lafitte, Crown Point, Barataria and Grand Isle," Jefferson Parish President John Young told TODAY.

Plaquemines Parish also issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents on its east bank starting at noon Monday. Parts of Lafourche, Saint Charles, St. John parishes saw mandatory evacuations as well.

With tropical storm force winds that extend 240 miles from its center, Isaac is an unusually wide storm.

"Impacts will be far to the east and to the west of where it comes ashore," Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told TODAY.

I remember posting an article some years ago where it had been discovered that the contractor rebuilding the walls had been filling the cracks between the slabs of concrete with old newspapers instead of sealing them properly.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu called the date of Isaac’s arrival to the metropolitan area ironic Monday all while assuring that the city was prepared for the tropical storm.

“I want to tell everybody now that I believe that everything is going to be OK,” Landrieu said.” That does not mean that you can let your guard down. IT doesn’t mean that you can’t do everything that you planned to do.”

Landrieu called it patently obvious to New Orleanians and the world that “it is quite ironic that we have a hurricane that is threatening us on the seventh anniversary of Katrina.”

But he said during his noon press conference that the city is fully prepared to handle Isaac’s punch.

“The people of New Orleans have been incredibly resilient,” the mayor said. “The people of the metropolitan area, the people of Louisiana have been through many, many storms. We are very well prepared and we feel very good about our ability if we do the things that we know we can do to weather this storm.”

Landrieu said the path of Tropical Storm Isaac is becoming predictable as the hours close before landfall and that the city expects tropical storm-force winds to hit the city within the next 24 hours.

With the models focusing in on a New Orleans landfall, Landrieu said the city is ready to respond to the needs of those staying.

“We are staged, we are battle ready, we are in battle rhythm and we will be prepared to handle what comes our way,” Landrieu said.Source

Isaac is expected to bring a 6-12 foot surge as early as 3:00 am on Tuesday, August 28. In light of this development, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen have declared a mandatory evacuation south of Highway 90 and in other low lying areas, following a similar action by the Jackson County Board of Supervisors. Ocean Springs

oralloy wrote:

I remember posting an article some years ago where it had been discovered that the contractor rebuilding the walls had been filling the cracks between the slabs of concrete with old newspapers instead of sealing them properly.

That's why we need to let business regulate itself. Privatize everything.

This is clearly the MOST stupid place to have a large city on the planet.