By Staff, Baptist Message
BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana National Guard has now mobilized more than 250 personnel in an effort to build protective barriers against the approaching flood waters and to patrol levees in support of local, parish and state officials at the request of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Jan. 8.
The 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, with the help of the 225th Engineer Brigade’s three bridge erection boats and five-bay package, began transporting 12,550 linear feet of protective levee barriers to Avoca Island in St. Mary Parish early this morning from a staging point in Amelia. The 225th has created a ferry to carry the equipment and materials to the island.
The LANG Mobile Operations Command Center is operating in Morgan City to support the Avoca Island mission. More than 100 Soldiers are conducting 24-hour operations to build the barrier in time.
More than 60 engineers are also constructing 2,600 linear feet of protective levees in Krotz Springs in St. Landry Parish.
LANG aviators conducted an aerial survey of the Morganza Spillway Dam and surrounding affected area in support of the Corps of Engineers Jan. 7. They remain available to conduct further aerial missions as needed.
Guardsmen also began 24-hour levee patrols in the parishes of Concordia, East Carroll, Madison and Tensas in the 5th Levee District to inspect for leaks or seepage.
Vidalia Mayor Hiram Copeland sought and received help from the Guard to help Louisiana’s 5th Levee District prepare for rising water on the Mississippi River Jan. 5.
On Wednesday, Jan. 6, things appeared to take a turn for the better as the crest originally predicted at 60 feet was downgraded to 59 for Jan. 17. It will still be the second highest crest in Vidalia’s history.
The cities of Vidalia and Natchez know flooding is coming but are asking God to spare them any widespread damage.
The two communities will gather Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. for community prayer at the Vidalia Conference and Convention Center. Everyone is invited, including citizens, businesses and churches from Concordia, Catahoula and Tensas parishes as well as Natchez, Adams County and surrounding areas.
“Things can still happen, but we think everything is going to be great,” said Copeland according to a report on KALB-TV in Alexandria. “There is nothing better than the power of prayer.
Two sand-bagging chutes have also been provided to state officials in Tensas Parish. The LANG has also issued 13,000 sandbags each to Angola, Avoyelles Parish and West Feliciana Parish.
The Army Corps of Engineers will begin opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway in St. Charles Parish at 10 a.m. Jan. 10 to reduce the level of the Mississippi River in New Orleans, so its flow does not exceed 1.25 million cubic feet per second in New Orleans, corps officials confirmed late Thursday.
The river was at 15.5 feet on Jan. 7 at the Carrollton Gage in New Orleans and is expected to reach 16.4 feet Jan.10. The official flood level for the city is 17 feet, which will be reached Jan. 12, according to the National Weather Service’s Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center.
According to WAFB TV in Baton Rouge, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it intends to open the Morganza Spillway Jan. 12 if the forecast from the National Weather Service does not change.
A Louisiana National Guardsman and local officials load HESCO barriers onto a truck to be used to construct a 12,550-foot long levee on Avoca Island in St. Mary Parish in advance of expected river flooding Jan. 8. More than 100 Guardsmen are working around the clock on the project. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Garrett Dipuma)
There are two factors for the spillway to be made operational — a water height of 57 feet and a flow rate of 1.5 million cubic feet per second — and it appears both those factors appear to be taking place.
A Corp official told a group in Morgan City that 14 gates would be gradually opened over a 10-day period.
“The Corps intends to operate the Morganza Control Structure in strict accordance to our guidelines,” said Ricky Boyett, spokesman for the Army Corps. “Based on the current forecast, this operation could begin as soon as January 11. However, the forecast can change and no definite decision on whether operation of the floodway is required has been made at this time.”
The Corps said while the flooding that will follow may hurt some in the Atchafalaya Basin, the move is still in the best interest of public safety.
“I understand what’s going through your head right now: the effort, the money, the time it takes to prepare your property, your business,” said Col. Rick Hansen, commander of the New Orleans District of the U.S. Army Corps.
In 2011, as many as 17 gates of the spillway were opened.
River levels are expected to be lower than 2011, but the Army Corps is still asking people to prepare as if the threat of flooding were just as severe.
The Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office, KALB-TV and WAFB-TV contributed to this report.
