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JP requests to residents: Please stay home, limit use of warm water

The 911 call center was overwhelmed with calls Wednesday, receiving 10 times the normal amount.

JEFFERSON PARISH, La. — Jefferson Parish officials have two requests of residents Thursday – stay home if at all possible, and don't use warm water if at all possible.

Emergency Management Director Joe Valiente says that many roads are littered with downed trees and power lines and most of the parish’s traffic signals are not working, making travel a treacherous situation.

He also said that emergency and repair crews need space to assess the damage and perform the repairs.

“If you need to go to the grocery store, if you need to go to the pharmacy, that’s one thing… most of our traffic signal lights are down. It’s just not a safe thing to do. We really need one more day to assess damage,” he said on the Eyewitness Morning News.

Valiente also urged residents to limit their use of warm water since the parish’s water plant is on generator power and taxing the system could cause problems. Wednesday they asked residents to limit warm showers, washing dishes and clothes unless absolutely necessary.

Valiente also said that a majority of residents don’t have power as Entergy’s power outage map showed close to 175,000 residents without power.

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He also said that the 911 call center was inundated with calls. He said on a normal day the center receives about 55 calls per hour but Wednesday they were getting 600, making it harder to assess which calls needed immediate attention and which could wait.

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