2017 Louisiana Hurricane Guide

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HURRICANE GUIDE CONTENTS TERREBONNE

PREPAREDNESS

05 09 PREPAREDNESS LAFOURCHE

LAFOURCHE’S

LEVEE SYSTEM

12 ECONOMY

19 NOAA

FORECASTS

AFFECTING HURRICANE PLANS

21 24 FOR THE STORM GET READY

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BY JOHN DESANTIS

T

errebonne Parish emergency managers say they are ready for any challenges this year’s hurricane season might bring, maximizing use of available technology while planning as well for use of tried and true logic for plans.

Major levee projects have been completed, offering an extra measure of security.

But managers say they’re not chancing risk, and that you shouldn’t either.

“Morganza will be a completely closed system before the end of the month,” said Earl Eues, the parish’s emergency operations director. “That means there is flood protection from a hurricane surge. The protection is for a 10 to 12 foot surge, but it’s better than what we had 10 years ago.”

The Morganza to the Gulf system has been ongoing for the past several years and work continues at present. Officials said with several phases now complete, Terrebonne is safer than it’s maybe ever been from hurricane surge.

But Eues also repeated an important caveat that Lafourche Levee District director Windell Curole has repeated many times in the past.

“The levee system was built to protect property and not lives,” Eues said. “It’s just like when we raised your house, it was to protect your property and not your life.”

Evacuation orders, Eues stressed, must be heeded for safety’s sake. Movement of people out of the parish, and making for an orderly transition when people return, are the key tasks his agency wishes to accomplish, with safety the highest priority at all times.

A new emergency operations center will be opened up in the event of emergencies, with state of the art equipment helping to keep a focus on potentially dangerous storms early on. The center can handle punishment from storms through Category Five. Sheriff Jerry Larpenter, who will monitor storms and handle

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2017 HURRICANE GUIDE 5

his own agency’s operations at the Terrebonne Parish courthouse, said he’s ready, too.

Larpenter has been sheriff for several hurricanes and tropical weather events in Terrebonne Parish.

“We maintain our big trucks and five tons all year,” Larpenter said. “We check all the equipment we have and we know our responsibilities.”

Larpenter said he approaches all hurricane seasons with concerns, but that this year is one he sees as particularly important. The El Niño weather system that has helped protect this part of the world from storms in the past is crumbling, and forecasts call for a particularly busy season – one which forecasters say has a likelihood of being above normal in activity.

Larpenter echoed the statements of Eues and said the levee renovations are a big aid to the parish. He also rattled off statistics that show that the right storm still could be a huge detriment to those who live here.

“We never had a Category Four or Five storm hit here in my lifetime,” Larpenter said.

“With a storm that strong, all bets would be off. We’ve based on what people have told us seven of eight homes would have water in them, and the surge would go over our protection levees. But with the work they have done on all the levees, we know the levees will help.”

One tool that residents will find of use is Terrebonne’s alert system, which allows user-controlled levels of notification and important messages direct to a cell phone.

Elders and people with special needs must contact their local senior center, the Terrebonne Council on Aging or the Terrebonne Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness now to get signed up for services including transportation to emergency parish pickup points. In some cases arrangements will have to be made with the Louisiana Department of Health.

Pet owners should know that their feline and canine companions can be kept on their lap. For dogs too large to be handled that way, plans are

6 HURRICANE GUIDE 2017

in place for transport of dropped off and checked in canines in carriers to Monroe, Terrebonne’s authorized reception city.

Larpenter said he has a particular concern this year, that with financial times as bad as they are that people will hesitate to evacuate because they can’t afford to stay in a hotel at a safe location.

A story in this hurricane guide backs up the sheriff’s statement and shows that

several local families have expressed an inability to afford to leave town should a big enough storm come around.

“People have backup money when times are good,” Larpenter said. “Not when 13,000 people have lost their jobs. People living check-to-check need to save a little bit, even a little bit at a time.

Back up some emergency money and if the storm never comes, use it for Christmas presents.”

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L

afourche Parish is staying the course and making small additions to its hurricane response plan this year.

Josh Champagne, a Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office veteran, is now in his second year, and second hurricane season, leading Lafourche’s Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness department. Champagne, who spent his first year in office setting up his own evacuation plan for the parish and verifying plans and contacts, said Lafourche’s storm plan is not changing much from last year. He said his second year has been about tying up any loose ends to make sure the plan is ready for live action, which Lafourche has had a small taste of recently with strong rains battering the parish over the last few weeks.

“I think all our parish leaders, from our law enforcement, our emergency responders to our school system, everybody’s kind of on the same page and agreeing to the same methods. I think we’re good to go. We hope that our citizens will take the message we deliver and put it in place when we request it,” Champagne said.

This year’s hurricane season may yet be the time for Champagne and the parish to fully institute that plan, although experts are looking at a relatively tame season. Climatologists at Colorado State University, looking at more than 60 years of historical data, predicted a slightly belowaverage 2017 Atlantic hurricane season due to the possible development of a weak to moderate El Niño and anomalous Atlantic Ocean cooling.

CSU is predicting 11 named storms, with four of those becoming hurricanes and two reaching at least Category 3 at some point. The numbers are all at or below the median figures for 1981-2010 and are below last year’s estimation, when CSU experts predicted 13 storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes.

But there is some uncertainty in the forecast

LAFOURCHECHAMPAGNE PREPARED FOR STORMS

2017 HURRICANE GUIDE 9

because a similar report issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that there’s a 45 percent chance that the season will be above average in terms of the number of cyclones.

According to Champagne, multiple government agencies in Lafourche have been handling preventive work ahead of time. Champagne said the work done by other agencies beforehand makes the actual storm response process go much smoother.

“Our public works people have been really working to clean out canals. Our levee districts have been working hard throughout the year to reinforce levees and add to them,” Champagne

Champagne said such evacuations to Monroe will be handled by the local company in charge of school bus transportation, but families should have their own evacuation plans locked in by this point, with practice making perfect on a quick departure.

“If you have family members in another part of the state, map out a location getting there. Get all your important documents, copies made and things of that nature, things you would want to take with you, and basically put together your ‘go’ bag,” Champagne said. “At the end of the day, when it’s time to go, you have everything ready to go, all your vital documents and things that can keep you moving forward during this time of

said. “Our plan is pretty much the same as we had last year: educating our people on getting a plan and putting their stuff together and finding that location they want to evacuate to in event we have to do an evacuation.”

Champagne was an emergency responder with the LPSO during Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, and he led search and rescue teams in New Orleans and Lake Charles once Lafourche was stabilized.

He said the parish has retained its memorandum of understanding with Monroe from last year, in which Monroe has agreed to provide public shelter for evacuated residents from Lafourche, if needed. Champagne said the MOU with Monroe is due to last until the end of Parish President Jimmy Cantrelle’s term, unless either of the parties wishes to leave the agreement, which he does not see happening. Champagne said he has also been in meetings with state officials at the Governor’s Office for Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and local officials from the region to make sure everybody is on the same page when a crisis hits.

impact.”

Lafourche officials have spoken about setting up a database of residents for response streamlining during storm events. Residents would be asked to voluntarily sign up to list their address and state whether they plan on evacuating or not.

According to Champagne, this would help in rescues after a storm passes, as responders would know which homes are occupied and which are already evacuated. Champagne said the parish’s information technology people are working on the database and “cleaning a couple little things up,” with the parish hopefully bringing the system live soon.

“We want to make sure everybody gets out of here. Our message is we want everybody to evacuate in the event we have a severe storm coming. But if there’s going to be a possibility of people staying, we want to try to identify where they’re at,” Champagne said. “That way we can get resources to them in the event we can get those resources to them post-impact.”

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LAFOURCHE’S

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TO IT

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

S

outh Lafourche Levee District General Manager Windell Curole doesn’t believe in giving people a false sense of security.

Curole has said on the record multiple times that Lafourche’s levee system isn’t perfect and can be beaten if the right storm hits the area – specifically a large, slow-moving storm that would come ashore somewhere near Morgan City.

So instead of striving for perfection, Curole’s focus over the past several decades has been on progression.

And with that focus, he and other leaders in Lafourche Parish have built a massive earthen wall that is widely considered to be the gold standard for hurricane protection in Southeastern Louisiana.

It’s called the ring levee system and it’s a project that’s been several decades in the making for folks in Lafourche.

Curole said it’s not a perfect levee, but so far, at least, it’s been undefeated.

The system has not been topped by any of the tropical events the area has endured in the past several years, holding its own versus Hurricanes Andrew (1992), Lili (2002), Cindy (2005), Katrina (2005), Rita (2005), Gustav (2008), Ike (2008) and Isaac (2012).

“When a storm comes this way, a lot of places say, ‘Well, you know, we have to be lucky to get by this without major flooding,’” Curole said. “We take pride in being somewhat in the other side of the argument.

We’ve gotten to where we need to be unlucky to flood.

We have to have the right storm hit at the right angle going the right speed at the right time.”

The ring levee has been funded in part by government funds but Lafourche Parish citizens also willingly footed some of the bill via a one-cent sales tax, which has generated millions of dollars toward renovations, maintenance and elevation increases over the years.

The Lafourche system is massive – its highest points extending to close to 20 feet high and several feet wide at its highest points.

“It can be seen from space,” Curole said.

It’s called a “ring levee” because of its shape.

While most levees are straight-line walls which protect the coast and/or a low-lying area, Lafourche’s

RING LEVEE A LOCAL LEADER IN HURRICANE PROTECTION

2017 HURRICANE GUIDE 13

system is all-encompassing for the southern portion of the parish.

It starts in southern Golden Meadow and extends northward to Larose, protecting land on both sides of Bayou Lafourche in a giant circle – hence the name ‘ring levee’.

But it wasn’t always an impressive ring. To get to its current point took quality planning, hundreds of millions of dollars and months and years worth of hard work.

Curole said the process started in the 1960s when local leaders joined with concerned citizens in an effort to boost storm protection.

Lower Lafourche flooded badly for several storms before the system and folks decided that for future community stability, a formal plan needed to be laid into action.

The parish’s levee board started in 1968, but shovels of dirt were not dropped on the new system until 1976 – now 40-plus years ago.

But since that time, work has never stopped – thanks in large part to Curole, who got his start with the levee board in the early 1980s.

But a giant scare from a hurricane expedited the process a little, too.

Prior to the current system, Lafourche Parish’s Police Jury had created a wall, which was between three and five feet – enough to endure rain events, but not enough to stop storm surges.

In 1985, Hurricane Juan did $35 million in damage to Lafourche, over-topping all of the parish’s drainage levees. The ring levee project was started at that time, but not completed, which allowed the flood waters to come in.

But none of the levee district’s wall was overtopped, which lessened the damage.

“That was sort-of an eye-opener,” Curole said.

Since that time, more storms have passed through, and each time, the ring levee has gotten bigger and has become a more formidable foe.

Today, the levee is fully enclosed and is massive.

It covers more than 48 miles of land (439,000 acres). The system has a universal height of about 16-feet on the south end (toward Golden Meadow). On the northern-most end, everything is about 12 feet or more.

The levees are covered with grass, which helps ensure that they are not swept away when a 14 HURRICANE GUIDE 2017

surge hits.

The system is a model for local storm protection – one that Terrebonne and other local parishes have mirrored.

“To look at how far things have come, it’s really remarkable,” Curole said.

“Lafourche’s system has sort-of been a model we’ve all wanted to follow,” added Reggie Dupre, the executive director of the Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District. “The work that they’ve done there is impressive.”

And it’s getting better and larger by the day.

Curole said the levee evolves every, single year, and improvements are done as dollars become available.

The goes along with Curole’s philosophy, which is that no improvement project is ever too small, because even one shovel of dirt atop the levee is more than what it had before – a net-plus toward protection.

“We continue to improve every day – that’s our goal,” Curole said.

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SOME LOCALS WHO WERE ONCE PRONE TO EVACUATE NOW LIKELY TO STAY BECAUSE OF THE EXPENSE OF LEAVING

H

ouma native Rusty Guidroz doesn’t like bad weather much and neither does his wife.

Because of that, the Guidroz family tends to have a quick trigger finger when it comes to making an evacuation decision when tropical cyclones threaten the area.

“If it gets close, we leave,” Guidroz said. “We don’t stay – not even for the little storms. We just call it a family vacation and head out.”

But maybe not anymore.

Guidroz was laid off from his job in March and he’s currently doing part-time work with a friend as often as he can.

The income isn’t steady, nor is it as plentiful as it used to be, and it’s enough of a challenge that the Guidroz family may now be more selective when it comes to deciding when to evacuate during a storm event.

The down local economy is impacting hundreds of thousands of locals – some in indirect ways which often aren’t thought about.

This week, The Times asked folks if money is a factor in the decision and many said yes, adding that it wasn’t always an issue in the past five or six years when things were good.

“We still will be cautious and go if it’s

dangerous,” Guidroz said. “I am what you’d call a scaredey cat when it comes to weather.

It makes me uneasy and the same for my family, so if it’s a big problem, we will leave – absolutely. But we can’t just pack up without a care in the world and set sail while our hair blows in the wind on the way out of town. I think those days are done.”

Those days are done for other locals, too.

Houma native Renee Morgan said she had an oilfield-related job – a position which got eliminated a few months ago during a round of cuts which swept through the company that employed her.

Like the Guidroz’s, Morgan said she has evacuated for storms in the past – even events which ended up being just a small-scale problem for the Houma-Thibodaux area.

But today, Morgan said she is on a razor thin budget, adding that she has literally “next to nothing” for luxury or leisure until she can get back employed.

Unlike the Guidroz family, Morgan said she couldn’t evacuate out of town – even for big storms.

She said the thought of it all is worrisome during the hurricane season this summer.

“My family is here,” she said. “I don’t really have an aunt, uncle or cousin far enough out 2017 HURRICANE GUIDE 19

of town where I can hop in the car with a full tank and go spend a few days there. You ask me if I’m worried. I am worried. Yes, I am worried. I don’t think about it. I don’t let it sit on my mind, but if tomorrow a storm were in the Gulf and it were heading for Louisiana, I honestly don’t know what I would do.”

Evacuating really isn’t all that cheap – especially if you have an entire family and pets to look out for.

Let’s do some of the math.

Let’s assume that a storm is forecast to hit in between New Iberia and Morgan City, which would have strong impacts on Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes and would cause many to leave town.

If a family of four evacuates to Alabama or Mississippi for three nights, the average cost of a room will be somewhere near $100 a night – if not more.

That’s $300 gone – right out of the gate.

Add in supplies and it’s easily $40 per person, which is $160 more, bringing us to $460 total.

Factor in meals three times a day and/or groceries and we can see that the total can easily rise to $600 – if not closer to $1,000 – and that’s only if the trip is for three days.

That’s just not money which many locals have spare right now in their budgets, which has many thinking that evacuation will only come in 2017 if a massive storm approaches.

The Guidroz family said they recently hired a carpenter to fix their shutters, which also hiring someone to change a few shingles on their roof.

Rusty Guidroz said he specifically discussed the topic of evacuation with his wife and together, the couple decided that the best use of their dollars would be to boost their home unit so that it can better withstand a storm event if it comes.

“We are more likely to be inside of the house while it’s passing, so it was definitely a priority to make it as strong as we can,” he said.

That, and hoping for a little lady luck wouldn’t hurt, either.

Morgan said she prays every, single day that this storm season, too, shall pass and that everyone in the area can stay safe – both physically, emotionally and also economically.

“I guess it’s like anything else – if it comes to that point, I’ll have to do what I’ll have to do,” she said. “But I just hope and pray and ask God for it to not get to that point.”

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or the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through November 30, forecasters predict a 45 percent chance of an above-normal season, a 35 percent chance of a near-normal season, and only a 20 percent chance of a below-normal season.

“As a Florida resident, I am particularly proud of the important work NOAA does in weather forecasting and hurricane prediction,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “These forecasts are important for both public safety and business planning, and are a crucial function of the federal government.”

Forecasters predict a 70 percent likelihood of 11 to 17 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which 5 to 9 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 2 to 4 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5; winds of 111 mph or higher). An average season produces 12 named storms of which six become hurricanes, including three major hurricanes.

These numbers include Tropical Storm Arlene, a rare pre-season storm that formed over the eastern Atlantic in April.

“The outlook reflects our expectation of a weak or non-existent El Nino, near- or above-average sea-surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, and average or weaker-than-average vertical wind shear in that same region,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

Strong El Ninos and wind shear typically suppress development of Atlantic hurricanes, so the prediction for weak conditions points to more hurricane activity this year.

Also, warmer sea surface temperatures tend to fuel hurricanes as they move across the ocean.

However, the climate models are showing considerable uncertainty, which is reflected in the comparable probabilities for an above-normal and near-normal season.

“NOAA’s broad range of expertise and resources support the nation with

strong science and service before, during and after each storm to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy as we continue building a Weather-Ready Nation,” said Ben Friedman, acting NOAA administrator. “From our expert modelers to our dedicated forecasters and brave crews of our hurricane hunters, we’ll be here to warn the nation every step of the way this hurricane season.”

NOAA brings exciting new observing, modeling, forecasting and communications tools to the table this year to improve our hurricane warning capabilities and aid public readiness: Even before its final positioning, the sophisticated camera on NOAA’s new GOES-16 satellite will give our hurricane forecasters a sneak peek at its greater image resolution, sharp detail and rapid-refresh rate. One of the powerful instruments aboard GOES-16, the lightning mapper, will allow forecasters to see lightning strikes that build within tropical cyclones – a possible signal of strengthening.

2017 HURRICANE GUIDE 21

The combination of two high-resolution hurricane models will improve forecast guidance for the National Hurricane Center this season. The upgraded Hurricane Weather Research Forecast model adds better representation of storms at higher vertical resolution, and has advanced data assimilation and improved physics. With these upgrades, the model can improve intensity forecasts by as much as 10 percent and track forecasts by as much as seven percent. NOAA’s Environmental Modeling Center also is replacing the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Hurricane Model with a new hurricane model called HMON, for Hurricanes in a Multi-Scale Ocean-Coupled Non-Hydrostatic, which has superior trac and intensity forecast skill.

NOAA’s National Hurricane Center is providing a suite of new forecast and communication tools this season. Forecasters there will issue Storm Surge Watches and Warnings operationally this year, in addition to issuing advisories, watches and warnings for disturbances that aren’t yet a tropical cyclone but still threaten land with tropical storm or hurricane conditions within 48 hours. The center added a new experimental visualization tool so the public can easily see when damaging winds are forecast to reach their community. Also, beginning this year, the public will be able to click on the hurricane track cone graphic and see how far outside of the cone hurricane and tropical-storm-force winds extend, which can be hundreds of miles.

“Regardless of how many storms develop this year, it only takes one to disrupt our lives,” said Acting FEMA Administrator Robert J. Fenton, Jr. “Get ready now with these easy, low-cost steps that will leave you better prepared and will make all the difference: Have a family discussion about what you will do, where you will go and how you will communicate with each other when a storm threatens; Know your evacuation route; tune into your local news or download the FEMA app to get alerts, and finally – listen to local authorities as a storm approaches.”

The 2016 season was the most active since 2012, with 15 named storms, including 7 hurricanes and 4 major hurricanes.

NOAA will update this outlook in early August, just prior to the peak of the season.

NOAA also issued seasonal hurricane outlooks for the eastern Pacific and central Pacific hurricane basins. An 80 percent chance of a near- or above-normal season is predicted for each region.

The eastern Pacific outlook also calls for a 70 percent probability of 14 to 20 named storms, of which 6 to 11 are expected to become hurricanes, including 3 to 7 major hurricanes. The central Pacific outlook calls for a 70 percent probability of 5 to 8 tropical cyclones, which includes tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes.

•

22 HURRICANE GUIDE 2017

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10 THINGS 01 KNOW

THE EMERGENCY BROADCAST STATION FREQUENCY FOR YOUR AREA

02 MAP OUT 03 THINK

YOU SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN MAKING YOUR EMERGENCY PLANS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

WHERE YOU WOULD MEET & WHO YOU WOULD CALL IF YOU WERE SEPARATED FROM OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS IN AN EMERGENCY.

ABOUT MEASURES YOU NEED TO TAKE TO PROTECT YOUR HOME & PROPERTY

Are there things you can do well in advance, such as trimming trees to prepare for a storm?

And what will you need to do at the last minute, such as turning off utilities, securing loose items or covering windows?

04 MAKE SURE

YOU HAVE BASIC EMERGENCY SUPPLIES, SUCH AS A BATTERY-POWERED RADIO, FLASHLIGHTS, BATTERIES, A FIRST-AID KIT AND SO FORTH.

05 STOCK UP

KEEP AT LEAST A THREE-DAY SUPPLY OF NONPERISHABLE FOOD ON HAND AND DEVISE A MEANS OF STORING AMPLE WATER FOR THAT TIME FRAME, IN CASE YOU NEED IT.

06 CONSIDER

IF THERE IS SOMEONE YOU WOULD TELL IF YOU DECIDED TO LEAVE HOME IN AN EMERGENCY.

Doing this also gives family members someone else to contact about your status if they can’t get in touch with you.

07 WHERE?

WHERE WOULD YOU GO IF YOU NEEDED TO EVACUATE? A SHELTER? OUT-OF-TOWN FRIENDS OR RELATIVES? Remember, hotel rooms are difficult to find during an emergency.

08 WHAT ROUTE

WOULD YOU TAKE DURING AN EVACUATION? Do you have a

car, and would you drive? Would you need to depend on public transportation, and if so, will it be available? Check with your area’s emergency manager for information on your community’s evacuation plans.

09 PACK

IDENTIFICATION, SOME CASH, COPIES OF IMPORTANT PAPERS, MEDICATIONS YOU TAKE REGULARLY, CLOTHING FOR AT LEAST A FEW DAYS & OTHER NECESSITIES. You also

10 PETS

HOW WILL YOU PROVIDE FOR YOUR PETS’ CARE & SAFETY? WILL YOU EVACUATE WITH THEM? WILL THEY HAVE PLENTY OF FOOD, WATER & SHELTER IF LEFT BEHIND?

might want to take copies of a few family photos or other sentimental items you could reasonably transport.

2017 HURRICANE GUIDE 25

LOUISIANA HURRICANE MAP EVACUATION

26 HURRICANE GUIDE 2017

SOUTH EAST LOUISIANA CONTRAFLOW For road closures, call the Louisiana Department of transportation (DOTD) at 877-4LA-DOTD (visit online at 511la.org), or Louisiana State Police at 800-469-4828 (visit online at lsp.org).

ing a Ch

ainsaw

Call or visit your parish LSU AgCenter Extension Service office for a free Storm Recovery Guide and other disaster information publications.

Safely

Chain tools for saws are both home popular and profe they have ssionals owners Kickba so manybecause – tree ck uses Kickb rewootrimming, cuttin or is pinchack occur d, clean after storm g ing ed, causi s when towar chainsaws s, etc. up d the the saw all small Although opera ng the chain are poten are hand home tor. Low-kbar and chain grabs Large owne the low-k r saws used r saws ickback chain to kick backwood (those mend ickback chain by profession less s are requi als maythan 3.8 cu. red on chain ed. You also s, but they cause at the tip of can minim are availa or may not in.). ize kickb ble and have abrup the bar and your bar conta recom ack by tly. Alway ng shoul ctive chapspieces saw chain your body ct anyth not to s , legginthat could d be welland from what Prote direct stand to thepivot back ing. Kickbletting the gs and be caugh tting listic nylonctive chaps ly behin towar side; never pants t in the and not d the ack can d or above Fuel drawn have simila are opera chain multip r availa Saf into . the barhave any part tor drawn the sawto bullet-proo le layers ety ble.

Gasoline and chain of of Kevla logge into the saw, by the saw f vests mean rs will engin ! r (balteeth. ) that are still worth tell you it stops Never s they requi es on chain easily Once fuel a re $70 cost wearing that saw the chain the oil saws to to be hot spill are of these because chaps arefrom runnimaterial is gency at least fuel on theengine; allowmixed with two-stroke ng. of chaps hot in don’t room. If prote summ Many the saw. 10-20 feet engine or it to cool the gasol , which is cheathe prote reuse Be sure away fromsaw. Refue rst. Be ine. it – repla ctive gear per thanction they er, but top of give.

A hard caref a the is to ce l trip dama The ul not fuel conta clean the where you the saw it. tamin or limb, hat is ged by to the emer iner befor ller cap will be at a site you llation. You shoul saw conta of the loose or important. runni on the fuel e ct, head. saw could dead limbs When you tank. d add bar refueling tothe saw andng allow start cuttin and chain avoid the the barmay fall. Also, Cut Safety ting and chain impro g a tree oil everyfuel conopera goggles time to conta per use te a chain Avoid or a full tion come cutting ct your with a saw witho face shield s in many eyes. climb chainsaw; overhead. forms ut one or the is critica based and then pullleave that Do not climb l. Neve and keep other Ear engin protection avoid on how the the saw to a professiona tree or s sawd ! Eye proter e noise up on ust out is impor cal who ladder chain pinching the tree or limb can excee a with the of the tant. When will will tryrope. Plan anyth or being injuresaw protection. d 90 dBA, chain your to fall you comb trees ing other than d. On more naturally cuts Operating which isnoise, a mode ine the than two a to rn chain permanen inche (less than abousmall hours a properly level that requi saw t3 witho nent heari t heari shoul s in diameter) functi res you ng lossng loss. If ut hearing oning chain hearing cut or d make a prelim Hear will start the muf protection saw for where notch on the inary ear muffs ing prote er is will in you want side fall, then . Muffs ction come 15 minutes! removed, begin do not the tree permacut from make the fortab aggravate are slightly s in two forms to le in hot more earw couple the backs felling chainsaw weath ax buildu effective – ear plugs ide a rst cut of inches abov er. Eithe p. Earpl use. than plugs and or notch Glove ugs r kind e the . works are more and cushionings help It prote well with comance is often good stantial from vibrat ct your normal insurcable to fasten a shoe hand ion.

Perso s – preferably Finally, s and also land, to the tree rope or nal prote deale steel- you shou provide some direct because it and pull it ld wear toe ion in in is them rs who sell ctive clothi or cable subwhich dif cult for the direc chainsaws ng is work boots stores.to special order . heigh , be sure the tree will an amat tion you want , altho available t of the eur it. It also it ugh from load on tree. is at least fall. If you to predict it to is availayou may most 50 the limbs When do use the cut. When ble from have to cuttin perce a rope side of cuttin , and cut carefg limbs, nt longer than catalog ask be the trunk g limbs dangerous from ully. Limbs aware of the any by the to cut opposite the downed trees can spring dead saw vibrat limb(s , when ion andtrees; branc ) you arestand on the hes may cutting. fall on you. be loose It is ned

Reliable information is key to protecting your family and property before, during and after a disaster.

Research-based information from LSU AgCenter experts can help you prepare for and recover from the problems created by storms, floods or other catastrophic events.

The LSU AgCenter offers a series of guides, fact sheets, workshops and other useful information available online or by contacting your local LSU AgCenter Extension Service office.

Assumption .... 985-369-6386 Jefferson ........ 504-736-6519 Lafourche ...... 985-446-1316 Orleans .......... 504-658-2900 Plaquemines .. 504-433-3664 St. Charles...... 985-785-4473 St. James ...... 225-562-2320 St. John .......... 985-497-3261 St. Martin ........ 337-332-2181 St. Mary.......... 337-828-4100

There's one in every parish.

For the latest research-based information on just about anything, visit our website:

Terrebonne .... 985-873-6495

LSUAgCenter.com/DisasterInfo

HOUTIMESHurricane2017

Operat

and must tially dang y, they Person to avoid be used erous al Pro caref seriou You s injury ully you are need prote tective . cutting. ction both Equipm have ent from the Prote any loose Your clothi

2017 HURRICANE GUIDE 27

2017

HURRICANE

TRACKIN CHART

28 HURRICANE GUIDE 2017

SAFFIR-SIMPSON DAMAGE POTENTIAL SCALE CATEGORY WINDS 1- MINIMAL 2- MODERATE 3- EXTENSIVE 4- EXTREME 5- CATASTROPHIC

74-95 MPH 96-110 MPH 111-130 MPH 131-155 MPH > 155 MPH

2017 HURRICANE GUIDE 29

E

xperience shows that the use of short, distinctive given names is quicker and less subject to error than the more cumbersome latitude-longitude identification methods.

Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Center. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization.

The original name lists featured only women’s names. In 1979, men’s names were introduced and they alternate with the women’s names. Six lists – all alphabetical, excluding the letters “Q,” “U,” “X,” “Y” and “Z” – are used in rotation. Thus, the 2011 list will be used again this year. It’s same list that was used in 2005, as well.

The only time there is a change in the list is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a new storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity. If that occurs, then at an annual meeting by the WMO committee, the offending name is stricken from the list and another name is selected to replace it.

Several names have been changed since the lists were created. For example, on the 2004 list (which was used again in 2010), Gaston replaced Georges and Matthew replaced Mitch. On the 2006 list, Kirk replaced Keith. In this year’s list, Irene was replaced with Irma.

In the event that more than 21 named tropical cyclones occur in the Atlantic basin in a season, additional storms will take names from the Greek alphabet: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and so on.

One of the U.S.’s busier hurricane seasons, the 2005 season, included storms Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon and Zeta. Tropical Storm Zeta brought 2005’s final tally to 27 tropical storms. That same year, five storm names were retired: Dennis, Katrina, Rita, Stan and Wilma.

2017 hurricane names ARLENE BRET CINDY DON EMILY FRANKLIN GERT 30 HURRICANE GUIDE 2017

HARVEY IRMA JOSE KATIA LEE MARIA NATE

OPHELIA PHILIPPE RINA SEAN TAMMY VINCE WHITNEY

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The real disaster is not being prepared.

Hurricane preparedness is taken seriously at Thibodaux Regional. Advanced, detailed planning allows us to immediately respond to all categories of storms and emergencies ultimately enhancing the safety of our patients, visitors, and staff.

Thibodaux Regional Medical Center is fully prepared to face the storms that threaten the region and maintain our high standard of care and patient satisfaction.

Nationally-Recognized Hospital.

32 HURRICANE GUIDE 2017

985.447.5500 | www.thibodaux.com