SLIDELL, LA INFORMATION

The Advocate - Baton Rouge, LA : story link - http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/083005/new_slidell0sen01.shtml Senator: Slidell area likely hardest hit by Katrina

Capitol news bureau Much of Slidell is under water and likely sustained the worst damage from Hurricane Katrina, tate Sen. Tom Schedler, R-Mandeville, said Tuesday at 1 p.m. Calling the devastation “total”, Schedler said, only slabs remain where dozens of houses were blown down and several feet of water remain in the Slidell Memorial Hospital on Gause Boulevard as well as throughout the old town area off U.S. 11.

Slidell is a suburban community of about 25,000 people northeast of New Orleans near where Interstates 10, 12 and 59 intersect in St. Tammany Parish.

Schedler was interviewed after being briefed at the state Office of Emergency Preparedness. He said he could not return to his district.

“Slidell is as bad as New Orleans east and some other areas in St. Bernard Parish,” Schedler said. “It’s a problem that will be with us for months and years.”

State Police Troop L evacuated its Slidell headquarters during the storm, set up a temporary command in a fire department, then had to flee that center, he said.

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2643. SLIDELL - all current info i know of by lsugirl777, 8/30/05 11:01 ET this is everything that I have heard so far. between first hand accounts from people in slidell and someone who works for WWL - i think its all accurate: -twin spans DESTROYED-water tower on Gause FELL-roof of Applebee's off-roof of Northshore Hospital off and flooding-flooding up to chest on Old Spanish Trail-Lake Ponchatrain "doesn't end until" Old Spanish Trail-Roofs blown off all down Ponchatrain Dr.-Bayou Liberty under water -Gause flooded starting at Slidell High-Racetrack on Gause caught fire -Bowling USA half gone-tornado spotted on Old Spanish Trail-"older" schools destroyed-windows blown out and flooding at SMH-Olde Towne flooded-severe flooding down Old Spanish Trail (up to the rooftops)-alligators and snakes in the water -severe damage to Eden Isles/Oak Harbor/Lakeshore Dr.-dead bodies in Eden Isles (hopefully that is not true)-minimal flooding in Audobon (a friend of mine went back to his house and said no flooding)-Rigoles torn apart I know this news is tough but with a good sense of community we can get through this. Luckily we have the losses in New Orleans to lean on and we have the support of the whole nation. I know it's hard not having news coverage but from what i've heard- you don't want to see it. I heard from 2 people that they weren't showing footage because it was too "traumatic". Everyone just sit still where you are, spend this time with your families - after this we should see that time together is precious. There will be plenty of time to assess damage once we are allowed back in town. Just everyone continue praying and looking for family members.

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2627. Slidell,Eden Isles,Huntwyck,Fremeaux Ave,HWY11,Military RD, by helpnet, 8/30/05 10:51 ET Found this on a NOLA blog. Does anyone know if FEMA has done a flyover..and the results? Can't find anything from their website. 2528. Slidell, Eden Isles by aboveboard, 8/30/05 8:52 ET Okay, 1St, THANK GOD most people evacuated are safe!!

At 1:30am I spoke with a St. Tammany sheriffs officer after trying for two days. There is no communication in St. Tammany at all. He snuck to Holden, LA and was able to use a phone from there.

The twinn spans look like a set of stairs, impassible both directions. Pretty much all of St. Bernard is flooded and damaged. Our dispatcher in Chalmette called in at 0700 and reported some shed damage and rain. At 1100 he was on his rooftop awaiting rescue since the water rose to the soffit and facia.

Slidell had 175mph wind gusts, Eden Isles had 20-25' of tidal surge on top of high tide and rain. Reports of extensive roof losses. Slidell was getting 18" of rain per hour at impact. There is no media coverage because noone can get near...conditions are still too bad. Lake Pontchartrain made its way to Fremeaux ave. OST Monday night still had 6' of water...believed to have had 10' of water both sides of Pontchartrain drive at Taco Tico, Tammany Mall. China Buffet, old Pitt Grill,(OST) at the interstate had water to it's roof. Hwy 11 cannot be seen...road or bridge. Military rd has 6' of water.

Not all of Slidell was damaged...Huntwyck, hwy 190 Maris Stella okay, many other parts as well. Alot of mayham but alot of Slidell did make it okay. The areas that did get it, got it bad.

Noone allowed back in for 2-3 days, could take 2 months to restore power. Part of SMH's roof damaged, Outback was on fire. Several tornados reported around Slidell. Most damage is south of I-12. Our home is gone.

Lets pray that it was only rising water at houses and not a lot of wind damage. Some may be able to recover more with just water damage. Law enforcement should be able to assess quite a bit on tuesday as the water subsides. Several calls for rescue but unable to reach them.

I don't mean to be gloom and gloom, but I am passing info along as passed to me.

Once again, we are alive. I fear some are not. We spent the day on Sunday on the phone while evacuating begging friends that were stubborn to leave.

Cell phone use is sporatic at best, but not in Slidell area. Text works somtimes when phone won't.

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WWLTV.com Slidell suffers extensive flood damage; Mandeville, Covington wind damage, power loss

Below is a status report from the emergency operations center. Public health and safety are our priorities.

“Our first priority is to clear major roads so that FEMA and other agencies can reach us with water, food & shelter. A 24/7 curfew is in place. Stay in your homes. It is not safe to be on the streets. Violators are subject to arrest. If you evacuated, DO NOT RETURN. St. Tammany Parish is closed. Do not attempt to cross St. Tammany Parish to reach other areas. Make safety your first priority. Please obey the instructions below regarding water and other public health and safety issues. Please be patient. We are beginning recovery operations.”

Sheriff Jack Strain continues to oversee the recovery effort and has urged citizens in the area to stay where they are unless travel is absolutely necessary.

“Our deputies are fully mobilized and working around the clock to restore a safe environment,” the sheriff said. “We need the full cooperation of every citizen in respecting the curfew, cooperating with emergency responders, and putting safety first. Residents who remain in St. Tammany Parish should stay where they are until instructed that the parish is safe for movement. Those who evacuated should stay out of the parish while we continue the early phases of this recovery effort.”

1- Stay at home. Do not enter the streets. A 24-hour curfew is in effect. Violators are subject to arrest.

2- Drink only bottled water OR water that has been at a full boil for at least one minute. Do not drink or cook with any water that has not been disinfected.

3- Stay out of flood waters. If you live in a high water area with central sewerage, sewage will be in the water. Stay out of ALL flood waters.

We are working with the State Office of Emergency Preparedness and FEMA to bring water, food and fuel for emergency responders into the parish. We are working with the Red Cross to establish temporary shelters.

CLECO & WST crews and the St. Tammany Parish Department of Public Works are working to clear major roads to allow FEMA to enter parish. 750 line and trimming crews are in-route. All parts & equipment for repair are in-route. Thousands of poles are down. Major damage parish-wide. Emphasis will be to restore emergency & medical sites first. Gas line breaks were wide-spread. Gas companies are working.

The 9-1-1 grid is not operational as of this morning. Work is underway to restore the grid and all land-line communications. No report on cell towers at this time.

Lake waters are beginning to recede. The City has experienced major flooding from Gause Boulevard south. There is major tree and power-line damage city-wide. All major arterial roads are impassable.

Flood waters reached to Monroe Street. There is NO ACCESS to Lakefront. The City is beginning the clearing process.

The Parish is sending emergency crews to contact areas that have not sent reports to the EOC.

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WBRZ (Channel 2) Baton Rouge TV : http://media1.dfw.swagit.com/s/wbrz/The_Advocate/08302005-5.high.asx - Paste this link into Windows Media Player (or other video player) under File > Open URL.

Baton Rouge Advocate: http://www.2theadvocate.com/ - Has lots of videos & photos

NOLA dot COM St. Tammany Forums: http://www.nola.com/forums/sttamtownhall/index.ssf

WWL (Channel 4) TV : http://www.wwltv.com - In particular check out the WWL Katrina BLOG by Tom Planchet for the latest up-to-the-minute news - http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/WWLBLOG.ac3fcea.html

ping bump

North Shore residents get first awful look at damage

By Meghan Gordon, Richard Boyd, Charlie Chapple
And Paul Bartels
St. Tammany bureau

With major roadways in St. Tammany Parish dramatically clearer Wednesday, returning evacuees got their first awful look at the devastation caused by Katrina’s high winds and flooding.

As homeowners walked and biked into their lakefront neighborhoods from the cleared roads, they saw much of the same wreckage whether they were in Lacombe, Mandeville, Madisonville or Slidell. Enormous trees rested on crushed roofs and cars, and putrid sludge covered the once-flooded ground.

And except for those people with generators, no one had power.
Central Louisiana Electric Co. officials said they had no firm estimate of when they would restore electricity to parts of St. Tammany and Washington parishes. They said they found serious damage to the equipment that connects power plants with distribution lines.

“Every circuit that we have has damage,” said spokeswoman Robbyn Cooper. “It’s going to take us weeks, an extended period of time.’’

Taking a short break at the parish emergency preparedness center in downtown Covington, Parish President Kevin Davis said the parish is now in “recovery mode.’

“Even though we we’re still rescuing people and searching for people, our focus now is trying to bet things back to normal,” Davis said. “But it’s going to take a long time. I’d say it’ll be at least two to three months before all parish infrastructure is restored.”

He estimated that that some 15,000 to 20,000 homes in St. Tammany were destroyed or damaged by Katrina’s storm surge and high winds that toppled trees through houses. Davis said he envisioned many of those homeowners will live in temporary homes set up in the parish while their houses are repaired or rebuilt.

But the initial goal is to take care of residents still in the parish and restore essential services so evacuees can return and the parish’s reconstruction can begin, Davis said.

One of the hardest hit areas in the parish was the Slidell, where many homes were swamped by Katrina’s tidal surge.

In Palm Lake, water at Gaye and Henry Sollberger’s home rose to the roof at one point.

Gaye Sollberger grew up in New Orleans and was a child when the devastating Hurricane Betsy blew through in 1965.

“This was worse,” she said, echoing the words of many city officials and private residents. “We knew we were going to have water. We just didn’t know it would be that high. I was not prepared for this.

“It’s 2 feet now. It’s receded,’’ she said.

And the areas that didn’t flood, sustained heavy wind damage.

The hurricane, which apparently spun off a handful of tornadoes in some areas, also was quirky and arbitrary in inflicting its pain. Huge trees and power lines were toppled up and down the affluent Military Road area, especially the southern half, but had been removed or pulled to the side by Wednesday afternoon.

Hundreds of homes suffered damage from falling trees. Many interior streets remained impassable. Many neighborhoods appeared to be almost deserted.
The Lakewood subdivision was typical of the tree damage that inflicted so much of southeastern St. Tammany. Roughly every fourth house suffered mashed shingles or holes in the roof from wind-snapped trees.

In Lacombe, meanwhile, most streets off Lake Road showed the remains of Katrina’s flooding. Evacuees trudged through inches of muck or rode four-wheelers through standing water to confirm what they expected: flooded homes and wind-damaged roofs.

“It’s a mess, but thank God we still have our life,” said Wilhelmina Batiste, 70, who lives on Napoleon Avenue. “Katrina was a terrible girl.”

Lacombe’s most vulnerable houses on Elenore Drive weathered the storm fairly well, because most are raised on piers. But Jimmy Impastato learned different news when he drove through the neighborhood and found his wooden A-frame house relocated to the middle of the road.

Although Jeffrey Fontenette’s Elenore Drive house fared well, the storm left him with bad memories of the screaming winds and rising waters. But he said the toughest part of the storm’s aftermath has been the virtual absence of communication between those who stayed and their families across the country.

“It’s nauseating,” Fontenette said. “I’ve got a mama. My son’s got a mama. That’s all we want to do: Call our mommies and tell them we’re living.”

Though Madisonville’s flood damage was more limited than Lacombe’s, the signs of Katrina’s high winds were just as apparent in the riverfront town. The tin roofs of Salty’s Marina were peeled back like soup cans. The banks of Bayou DeZare were a mess of sludge.

Perhaps most dramatically, enormous trees, which just days ago added to the town’s charm, now lay across houses, beside roads and at odd angles. A 5-foot-wide tree on Main Street was tilted to a 45-degree angle.

“Just about every old tree in town is down,” Madisonville police spokesman Dave Smith said. “The town just will never look the same in our lifetime. It breaks my heart. I’m so disgusted. Just about every ancient pecan and a lot of the oaks are gone.”

Police cruising through Madisonville could help clear trees and patch up homes, but they didn’t have many answers for those left homeless by the storm. Plans for distributing food, water and building supplies had yet to circulate across the parish.

“There’s no ice, no food, no fuel,” Smith said. “People are asking everywhere, ‘Where can I find it?’”

Smith said at least one person was apparently desperate enough for fresh meat that he shot a deer.

The damage to historic buildings along Mandeville’s lakefront became clearer Wednesday, a day after police cleared one route to Lakeshore Drive.

Mayor Eddie Price raised his estimate of seriously damaged homes to more than 100 in Mandeville. On the lakefront, six homes were leveled and most of the others had serious structural damage. Mandeville building inspector Bill Wohler said every home not raised in Old Mandeville was seriously damaged.

Many landmark buildings were all but shells, including the Pontchartrain Yacht Club, Rips on the Lake, Java Grotto, Juniper Restaurant, Rest-A-While church summer camp and the Down on the Lake bar. Le Petit Fleur, one of the city’s most historic homes, was gutted but still stood.

In Abita Springs, some water remained on the ground in low areas. Large pine and oak trees spliced roofs and made driving through most streets impossible. Winds ripped the face off a yellow house on Level Street, and fallen trees left a white house nearby demolished. The Tammany Trace was covered with debris, and the Abita Springs Cafe's roof was torn off.

Cleco’s Cooper said crews were working simultaneously on the transmission system and the distribution lines that power 78,940 homes in St. Tammany and 709 in Washington Parish. The distribution system has about 65 percent overhead lines, with the rest buried underground. In every corner of the parish, the lines and poles hang precariously over roads and tangled with fallen trees.

Like parish officials, Cleco officials are urging residents not to return to St. Tammany. Cooper said darkened street lamps and traffic lights make driving incredibly dangerous, especially as more evacuees return.

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