JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — Friday morning, Jefferson Parish officials gathered at the Emergency Operations Center to give an update on the parish’s preparations for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. It is forecasted to be an active one, and with more and more storms rapidly intensifying before landfall, Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng urged residents to prepare early.
“Jefferson Parish is storm-ready,” said Jefferson Parish Emergency Management Director Joe Valiente. He and many other department heads gave detailed descriptions of the storm preparations they have been undertaking and their systems’ readiness for a potential hurricane.
Valiente’s staff recently completed its annual “EOC activation training.” Jesse Noel, Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority’s Director of Operations, said the agency has “spent the last six months upgrading systems and inspecting and maintaining our levees gates and pumps.” The heads of both Eastbank and Westbank Fire Services said there are boats at the ready and that the parish has a new tool that can retrieve cars from underwater.
Several factors make preparations for this season more important– and complicated. For one, said Parish President Sheng, the past few years have seen a trend toward more rapid intensification of hurricanes. During Hurricane Ida, JP officials watched as it “went from a category two to a category four right before our eyes,” which left little time for evacuation efforts.
Homeowners in Louisiana are also dealing with impossibly high insurance costs. Sheng acknowledged that getting a permit for roof repair is an extra step during an already stressful time, though she urged them to do it anyway if they have to fix more than 50% of their roof, as it can give them more favorable insurance premiums later on. “It becomes a legal government document of ‘I got a new roof in 2024,’” she said.
Because of this, the Parish has put an online system in place to get a permit more quickly. Sheng described it as a “very, very quick process that does not require any of our people to go out.” This is a step-by-step guide on how to apply.
For residents’ parts, several officials emphasized that anyone planning to use a generator should get it checked now. Four people died of carbon monoxide poisoning in Jefferson Parish after Hurricane Ida. “It is odorless. You cannot see it. It is the silent killer,” sad Westbank Fire Services Director Don Robertson.
They also urged anyone with special medical needs who may need help evacuating to make arrangements early. You can find help here.
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