St. Tammany Parish update on response and recovery: Curfew ended, supply distribution coming

St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper provided an update Tuesday afternoon on Hurricane Ida recovery efforts.

"With rivers cresting below expected levels, we are now shifting our full attention to getting our Parish back to normal," said Cooper. "We know that our neighbors are putting debris on roads and trying to get their homes back to normal. I am asking our residents to be patient in the coming days and weeks, as we await gas stations to fill up, power to restore and businesses to reopen."

President Cooper ended the parish-wide curfew, which was put in place prior to Hurricane Ida.

Residents who are putting debris on the curb should follow these directions:
- Put on the back side of drainage ditches and away from catch basins and mailboxes.
- Separate by white goods, electronics and green debris.
- Do not bag.

St. Tammany Parish Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness has requested points of distribution sites, or PODS, and is awaiting approval from the state.

Animals currently housed at Animal Services are safe and secure. Animal Services is working with organizations to find homes for those pets.

Power companies are continuing efforts to replace power lines and clear areas, in order to re-connect power to homes and businesses. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 90 percent of St. Tammany Parish, totaling more than 100,000 customers, is still without power.

Washington-St. Tammany Electric has 340 personnel from within the community and across the country working together. WSTE said some neighbors have had power return on Tuesday, but they are cutting through debris and other trees to get to substations.

Cleco, who provides power to more than 95,000 customers in St. Tammany, said they are continuing

Power is expected to be restored in the coming days, but it could be a few weeks.

Tammany Utilities is still under a precautionary Boil Water Advisory and asking customers to limit water consumption.  The advisory is out of an abundance of caution.  Due to Hurricane Ida, results of LDH water testing will likely be delayed. Some private utilities have done the same, including:  City of Covington, the Town of Abita Springs, and the Town of Madisonville.

All rivers that St. Tammany Parish Government has been monitoring, with the exception of the Bogue Chitto and Pearl River, crested last night at levels below projected.