“This is a storm we have not seen yet this year, this is the seventh time we have been in cone of uncertainty,” St. Tammany Parish President Michael Cooper opened his address at 11am this morning.
“I ask our citizens to please be prepared to shelter in place this afternoon through, perhaps, midnight tonight, and even through the night because we will not be able to determine the impacts until after we’ve had a chance to assess the damages”
Cooper went on to assure the public utility companies CLECO, Entergy and Washington-St. Tammany Electric are standing by to respond to power outages once the hurricane has passed.
Once again, Cooper urged resident not to take chances with the hurricane: “I want to emphasize the importance of getting to the place that you’ll be spending the storm as early as possible this afternoon,” Cooper said. “The duration of the storm will be fast. But the impacts will be the greatest between 5-and-9pm. That’s what’s anticipated.”
If you are looking to evacuate, Cooper urged people to get out as soon as possible. “If you wish to leave your home, you may not be able to do so if your roads are impassable, so please take that into consideration.
Lake level rise, driving by strong winds were on Cooper’s mind as he addressed the Parish. “There will be strong winds and rains that will cause Lake Pontchartrain to rise, as they normally do, from Madisonville all the way to Slidell.”
“Do not take this storm lightly, this is the seventh time we’ve been alerted to a possible storm, but Hurricane Zeta will be packing higher winds that will topple trees, power poles that will put you out of power for an extended period of time.”