PRESIDENT COOPER GIVES UPDATE ON HURRICANE IDA RECOVERY 9/3/2021
ST. TAMMANY, LA. – St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper offers the latest information on Hurricane Ida recovery efforts.
“My number one priority at this time is the restoration of power to all of our citizens and businesses,” said President Cooper. “Many of our utilities, including water, are reliant on access to electricity. I can attest, as I have rode around the Parish over the last few days, that the damages to our powerlines and infrastructure have been wide spread and severe. I want to thank our citizens for their patience and ask them to continue to stay positive moving forward. Many of our citizens have already had their power restored, and to those who have not, we are working tirelessly to get you power as soon as possible.”
Power companies are continuing efforts to replace power lines and clear areas, in order to reinstitute power to homes and businesses.
Washington-St. Tammany Electric (WSTE) has around 31,000 customers in St. Tammany Parish and roughly 16,500 of those customers are without power as of Friday afternoon. To report downed trees and power lines to WSTE, please call 1-866-672-9773. Visit WSTE.COOP/Report-Outages to view a map of outages in the Parish.
CLECO, who provides power to more than 95,000 customers in St. Tammany, has around 43% of their customers without power. Roughly 54,000 customers have had their power restored. West of HWY 434 around 24,000 customers have had power restored leaving roughly 30,000 East of HWY 434 with power restored. 29 of the 55 schools is St. Tammany Parish now have power restored. Most of the Parish is expected to have power restored within a week.
Entergy has nearly 5,000 customers in St. Tammany Parish with roughly 1,800 still without power, around 38%. Entergy customers may visit EntergyStormCenter.com for the latest regarding outages.
GOHSEP now has two points of distribution sites, or PODS, mobilized in St. Tammany Parish. The National Guard is facilitating the distribution of MREs, water and ice out of the PODS located at the First Baptist Church of Covington and Fritchie Park in Slidell. Two MREs, three bottles of water and one bag of ice is given for every person in the vehicle.
The PODS will remain open until recovery efforts are no longer needed. The hours of operation are daily from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. with the exception of Sundays at the Church of Covington, when the hours will be Noon – 6:00 p.m.
Debris contractors will be mobilized mid to late next week. Currently, push contractors are working to push debris off and away from the roads, with expectations of being finished by this week.
Residents who are putting debris on the curb should follow these directions:
- Put on the back side of drainage ditches and away from catch basins and mailboxes.
- Separate by white goods, electronics and green debris.
- Do not bag green materials.
St. Tammany Parish Government offices are scheduled to reopen Tuesday, September 7, 2021, with regular business hours.
For those affected by the storm they may apply for FEMA assistance online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-3362. Damage may also be reported to the State at damage.la.gov. To report your damage to St. Tammany Parish email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Those who received damage should also make sure to contact their insurance companies to file a claim as well.
For those needing blue tarps visit BlueRoof.us. Blue tarps are also available around the parish at various local fire departments.
For any other needs call the St. Tammany Parish Emergency Operations Hotline at (985)-898-2323.
Stay tuned to St. Tammany Parish Government social media channels and STPGOV.org for further updates.