NEW ORLEANS – Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced that critical steps in the clean-up efforts have begun for tornado damage in New Orleans East. The City, Governor’s Office, FEMA and the Small Business Administration formed four teams to canvass the entire impacted area and conduct a preliminary damage assessment to determine the eligibility of a federal disaster declaration.
The City has set a 30-day timeline to clear all debris from the impacted area. This will be completed in three passes by the Department of Sanitation and local, national, non-profit and faith-based organization volunteers.
In addition to clean-up efforts, the City, in conjunction with City Council, has introduced a building permit fee waiver ordinance to ease the burden on impacted individuals as they begin to rebuild their homes and businesses.
The National Weather Service confirmed and classified Tuesday’s tornado in New Orleans East as an EF-3. Approximately 300 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
New Orleans 7th District Police Department resumed normal operations. Officers will continue a highly visible, unified, multi-agency patrol including assistance from the Louisiana National Guard and other state and local partners. At this time, there are no reported fatalities. Thirty-three injuries have been reported, 31 of which have been treated and discharged. Two patients remain in the hospital.
Public safety teams completed two full search and rescue sweeps of the impacted area and inspected over 5,143 structures.
Temporary Shelter
The City has opened a temporary shelter at Joe W. Brown Recreation Center, 5601 Read Blvd., for impacted residents. Wednesday night, 97 impacted individuals stayed in the shelter. 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 Louisiana Red Cross, Catholic Charities and New Orleans Fire Department, is providing basic medical care and prescription assistance. Food, water and cleaning supplies will be available for pick up.
Tarps were distributed by NOFD and other agencies Thursday afternoon by going door-to-door for those with major roof damage. Tarps will NOT be available for pickup at Joe Brown.
Entergy
Entergy has restored power to approximately 7,200 of the 10,400 impacted structures. Crews are working around the clock and expect to have all power restored by Saturday, Feb. 11. There are approximately 300 Entergy crewmembers and contractors working in the area to assess damage, clear debris on roads and repair the electrical facilities.
Preliminary damage reports include roughly 230 damaged and downed poles, 143 damaged transformers, 50 downed transmission poles (the lines that bring the power from the power plant to the substations) and 207 spans of downed and damaged distribution lines (the power lines that provide residents and businesses with power).
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.
Transportation
The Regional Transit Authority (RTA) is restoring service to New Orleans East as road conditions and hazards are cleared. Some routes remain on detour. The detours are as follows:
Bus Route 64-Lake Forest
Service restored to regular route.
Bus Route 65-Crowder/Read
Service restored to regular route.
Bus Route 94-Broad
Service outbound to New Orleans East will terminate at Wilson. Buses will travel on I-10 to Crowder to Lake Forest to Bullard and return to regular route and continue to Michoud.
From Michoud buses will travel to Bullard on regular route to Lake Forest to Crowder then board I-10 to Ray St. exit and return to regular route.
No service will be provided between intersection of Chef Menteur/Ray to intersection of Chef Menteur/ Bullard.
RTA Shuttle Service To Shelter At Joe Brown Park:
RTA is providing shuttle service to the City’s shelter in Joe Brown Park for residents without transportation.
Pick up points for Shelter Shuttle Service include:
• Dwyer Road and Wilson Avenue
• Dwyer Road and Crowder Boulevard
• Dwyer Road and Wright Road
The Following Roads Remain Closed:
Vehicular traffic restricted: Chef Menteur to Dwyer and Wilson to Bullard
Only pedestrians with ID are allowed in impacted zones.
Police closure points:
• Chef Menteur & Read
• Chef Menteur & Bullard
• Chef Menteur & Downman
• Chef Menteur & Bullard
• Chef Menteur & Papania
• Chef Menteur & Wright
• Chef Menteur & Bundy
• Dwyer & Wright
• Dwyer & Read
• Dwyer & Bundy
• Dwyer & Bundy
• Dwyer & Crowder
• Dwyer & Wilson
• Pressburg & Bullard
RTA does have a Paratransit vehicle available if needed for residents requiring special transit services. For more information
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, all sewerage pumps are up and operating. 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.
Entergy, Parks and Parkways and the Sanitation Department have focused efforts on reopening Chef Menteur Highway so residents can regain access to the main thoroughfare. See below for currently cleared roads:
• Cleared: Crowder between Dwyer and Chef
• Cleared: Dwyer between Read and Chantilly
• Cleared: Grant between Wilson and Flake
• Cleared: Chef between Crowder and Read
• Cleared: Wilson between Chef and Dwyer
• Cleared: Bullard between Chef and Dwyer
• Cleared: Lake Forest between Chef and Read
• Cleared: Hammond Hwy. between Read and Bundy
• Cleared: Wright between Chef and Lake Forest
• Cleared: Bullard between Chef and Lake Forest
Short-Term And Long-Term Housing
Service providers will be on site at Joe Brown Park to take initial assessments for short-term and long-term housing needs. The following partners are offering additional services:
• Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) – Assisting existing voucher holders find replacement housing.
• Southeast Louisiana Legal – Providing assessments for any legal services needed.
• Desire Community Housing Corporation – Counseling for Homeowners.
• Veterans Affairs – Providing short-term and long-term assistance for Veterans.
• Total Community Action – Assessments to determine eligibility for assistance.
Volunteers & Donations
The City of New Orleans is working with several local, national, non-profit and faith based organizations to coordinate volunteer opportunities to assist with recovery efforts. Check nola.gov for updates regarding volunteering and donating opportunities. Residents looking to donate to ongoing relief and recovery efforts are encouraged to contact one of the organizations below. The shelter at Joe Brown Park is not able to accept food, clothing, other donations or volunteers at this time.
To Donate:
• Household of Faith – Household of Faith is serving as a drop-off location and distribution station.
Accepting: Clothing, toiletries and nonperishable items
Where to donate: 9300 1-10 Service Rd., New Orleans, LA 70127 (504-347-0127)
• Second Harvest – Second Harvest Food Bank will deliver 600 emergency meals to HOPE the Food Pantry in New Orleans East, which has ceased daily meal preparation as a result of tornado-caused power outage.
Accepting: Non-perishable food items such as canned vegetables, canned fruit, canned meat, soups, stews, beans, chili, peanut butter, pasta, rice, breakfast cereal and shelf-stable milk. View a full list of suggested donation items here
Where to donate: 700 Edwards Ave., in the Elmwood Warehouse District area
When: 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday
Make a monetary donation here
• New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans Tornado Relief Efforts
Working with The United Way, The American Red Cross and The Second Harvest Food Bank, the Saints and Pelicans have established a collection point for the public to drop off non-perishable food items and other tornado-related items of need.
Accepting: Non-perishable food items. There is also an immediate need for towels, blankets, toiletries and clothing, according to the Red Cross.
Where to donate: Saints Practice Facility Lobby Museum, 5800 Airline Dr., Metairie, LA 70003
When: Thursday, Feb. 9 until 5:30 p.m.
• City Church New Orleans
Accepting: Donations and volunteers and will be providing commodities, emergency supplies, hot meals, clean-up help and grief counseling.
Accepting: Monetary donations and physical items including bottled water, non-perishable foods, toiletries, flashlights, batteries, baby wipes, Band-Aids, peroxide, ointment, aspirin and basic first aid items. They are not accepting clothing.
Where to donate: Make a financial contribution here
Volunteer or bring items by coming to the church, 13123 I-10 Service Rd.
• St. Bernard Project (SBP)
Accepting: Make a monetary donation to SBP's Louisiana Tornado Recovery Fund here
Proceeds will fund SBP's initial damage assessment and begin
rebuilding work for those most in need.
• ReNEW Schools – ReNEW Schools saw its Schaumberg Elementary campus damaged by the tornado.
Accepting: Monetary donations to support its students and families are accepted here
• District B Council Office, Broadmoor Improvement Association & VAYLA
These three groups are partnering to provide needed supplies to affected individuals. They are collecting needed items in Broadmoor, and then transporting the collected supplies to VAYLA's headquarters, where they will be distributed.
Accepting: Clean clothes, shoes, socks, children's clothes, baby clothes, diapers, new toiletries, linens/ towels, new underwear, cleaning supplies and detergent, flashlights, durable cleanup gloves, plastic tarps, non-perishable bulk food (no-power friendly), feminine hygiene products, pet food and pet shampoo.
Where to donate: Broadmoor Arts & Wellness Center, 3900 General Taylor St., (504) 249-5130
When: Through Friday, Feb. 10 from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.;
Saturday, Feb. 11 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Make a monetary donation to VAYLA's rebuilding and construction efforts here
• Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF)
Accepting: Make a monetary donation to the GNOF's Helping Our Neighbors: Tornado Relief Fund here
• United Way of Southeast Louisiana
Accepting: Monetary donations and seeking volunteers. For more information
• The Food Pantry of New Orleans
Accepting: Donations of non-perishable food items from the general public. Drop-off at 13040 I-10 Service Rd., New Orleans, LA 70128.
• American Red Cross
Accepting: Make monetary donations to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund here
Financial gifts may also be sent to your local Red Cross chapter.
For more information: www.redcross.org/Louisiana
• 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.
