St. John Parish monitoring tropical development

Published 4:03 pm Wednesday, July 10, 2019

St. John the Baptist Parish – Parish officials are closely monitoring Potential Tropical Cyclone Two in the Gulf of Mexico and are urging residents to prepare now should the forecast impact the area.

The system is currently over the northeast Gulf and moving west/southwest before it is anticipated to strengthen to a tropical storm late Thursday. Although the forecast remains uncertain, the current forecast from the National Hurricane Center predicts that beginning as early as Thursday evening and through Sunday night, extended heavy rainfall and strong, gusty winds will impact Southeast Louisiana including St. John Parish as the system makes landfall in Western Louisiana.

Rainfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches through Monday are predicted for the region with isolated higher amounts possible that could contribute to flash flooding.  Isolated tornadoes can also not be ruled out.

Residents should make final family and home preparations for power outages, possible street flooding, and possible downed trees during the storm. Residents are asked to assist in removing loose debris and trash in catch basins to assist in preventing blockage in parish drainage systems. If you remove trees limbs and need pickup, please call Public Works at 985-652-4815.

Self- Serve Sandbag locations will be set up by 8 am on Thursday, July 11, 2019. Please bring a shovel and prepare to fill your own bags. Please only take what is needed.

Pre-filled sandbags for elderly and disabled:

(7 am to 7 pm daily)

Please stay tuned to local weather stations, sjbparish.com, St. John Government Access Channel, and Facebook for updates.  To register for Parish alerts, visit sjbparish.com and click “Stay Connected.”  Dial 9-1-1 after hours to report concerns.

Submitted by St. John the Baptist Parish Communications