Ascension Parish ‘so fortunate’; major impacts avoided in Assumption, St. James, officials say – The Advocate

Ascension Parish suffered minor impacts after Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron Parish early Thursday morning but officials remained on alert throughout the day.

Sheriff Bobby Webre reported roads that were blocked with downed trees had been already cleared Thursday morning and power outages affected fewer than 1,000 households then.

"We've been so fortunate," Webre said.

He said residents and local officials had a lot of time to prepare and it showed.

Entergy restored power earlier on Thursday to 200 people in Sorrento and was working on outages in Gonzales and north of the city. DEMCO has reported that fewer than 50 customers lost power.

The parish is still dealing with lingering bands from the hurricane that could bring some wind and rain.

Parish government officials announced Thursday afternoon that all parish employees should report back to work Friday.

In Ascension, Friday's are half days for many employees. Many employees were directed to work from home on Thursday, with some key exception for the storm response.

The parish's Emergency Operations Center was partially activated Thursday, and Public Works and law enforcement officials, and the storm tracking team are located.

The Citizens Service Center is staffed and open for non-emergency calls at (225) 450-1200. For emergencies, call 911.

In Assumption Parish, a possible tornado was reported by the National Weather Service to have touched down Wednesday in Paincourtville, but local officials said Thursday they were unable to find any damage.

John Boudreaux, the parish homeland security director, said the twister matted down sugar cane stalks in fields in the small community along Bayou Lafourche and off La. 70 and La. 1 but did not uproot them.

He said he doubts the tornado actually touched the ground but speculated it could have been heavy winds.

Boudreaux added the parish has weathered Laura with no significant damage nor any house flooding. Storm surge from Laura pushed backwater into the Lake Verret basin up 6 inches. The spring floods were worse.

St. James Parish escaped the impacts of the hurricane, with no power outages and no road closures, officials said.

We were fortunate and fared very well, Eric Deroche, director of the parishs Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said.

According to the National Weather Service, a weather station at the Louisiana Regional Airport south of Gonzales saw 0.7 inches of rain since 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Winds have been strongest Thursday morning. Sustained winds have remained around 20 mph to 30 mph, with gusts of 30 mph to 40 mph.

As of 10 p.m. Thursday, the highest gust reported so far popped up for the 8:15 a.m. measurement at 41 mph.

Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment reported in a statement shortly before noon that all pumping stations are still staffed, including Sorrento, Marvin Braud and Henderson Bayou. The floodgates at Frog Bayou are also closed, protecting homeowners in the Spanish Lake area and Ridge Road.

Sand and bag locations remain open and the animals from the parish animal shelter, Cara's Houe, remains at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center is on standby alert.

Cointment said the parish remains under a flash flood watch, a tornado watch, a wind advisory, and a coastal flood watch until at least 7 p.m. Friday.

The threat is not over yet! Be vigilant and be alert, he said.

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Ascension Parish 'so fortunate'; major impacts avoided in Assumption, St. James, officials say - The Advocate