State of La. to release revamped evac procedure

[LaPlaceFF]

STATE TO RELEASE REVAMPED EVAC PROCEDURE

With the gridlock experienced last hurricane season, the state has decided to revamp its evacuation plans. Those plans are expected to be released today.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says the evacuation plan is comprehensive and it should not create the gridlock that evacuees experienced in the past.

A key part of that is contra-flow. Mayor Nagin says people need to understand that once the get on the I-10 during an evacuation, police will be limiting their options as to where they can get off the highway.

“It’s going to be very critical that citizens understand which lanes take you in which direction,” says the mayor. “Certain lanes will take you to Mississippi, and other lanes will take you to Texas.”

He also says the city will be working closely with other emergency organizations like the Red Cross to better identify those who need help in evacuation.

“They have a buddy system that we are going to be working with them, where people will identify senior citizens in their churches and make sure they are okay in the event of a hurricane.”

He says the process of educating everyone in the city about the new plans will be underway closer to the approach of hurricane season.

[vbhoutex]

I hope they also send people North, which was not mentioned. I would think that having evacuee's going 3 different directions would give the most relief.

[Ixolib]

From "The SunHerald"

Louisiana comes up with improved plan for hurricane evacuation
Posted on Tue, Apr. 12, 2005

MARY FOSTER
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - Haunted by memories of fearful evacuees stuck on highways for hours as Hurricane Ivan bore down on the state, Louisiana officials revealed a new plan designed to move residents away from danger without massive backups.

"We have only 11 lanes of travel to evacuate all of the New Orleans area and areas south of here," Maj. Ralph Mitchell of the Louisiana State Police said Tuesday. "Getting people out requires very careful planing and coordination."

With Ivan apparently headed for south Louisiana last summer, New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin ordered residents to evacuate the city. Thousands of fearful families joined evacuees from surrounding areas on I-10 heading out of town.

State officials, however, didn't order critical lane reversals on interstate highways known as "contraflow" until nearly 18 hours after Nagin told residents to flee the storm. The result was a traffic snarl that stretched from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and lasted upward of 12 hours.

"You can't dump a whole city and not have traffic back up," said Johnny Bradbury, head of the state Department of Transportation and Development.

Four evacuees - a terminally ill cancer patient, two nursing home patients and a homebound patient - died after being taken from their storm-threatened southern Louisiana homes for the grueling evacuation.

The plan, demanded by Gov. Kathleen Blanco after Ivan, was put together by state police and the DOTD and includes evacuation routes for not only New Orleans and points south, but Lake Charles, Lafayette and the Houma-Thibodaux area.

"We have also worked with our Mississippi counterparts to make sure we have access to the highways over there," Bradbury said.

Under the new plan preparing for evacuations would begin at least 72 hours in advance. One of the problems during Ivan was the time required to get barriers, people and other material in place to allow lane reversal on highways.

Beginning 50 hours in advance evacuations south of New Orleans would be ordered, public offices and schools would be closed, but traffic would remain along normal routes.

At 40 hours evacuation south of the Mississippi River, including the West Bank of New Orleans, would be ordered.

In Phase 3, if the storm is a category 3 storm or higher, contraflow would be triggered.

Problems that slowed traffic last time ran the gamut from signs that were too hard to read, forcing drivers to slow excessively, to breakdowns.

Under the new system tow trucks will be stationed along the routes and new signs will be installed.

The biggest problem was the interstate leading out of New Orleans that drops to four lanes for a long stretch across the edge of Lake Pontchartrain known as the Bonnet Carre Spillway.

"Under ideal situations you can only get 8,000 cars through there per hour," Mitchell said.

To help eliminate some of the bottlenecks, contraflow would begin closer to New Orleans with all four lanes of I-10 used for westbound traffic. Residents would have only three entrances available and would either stay on I-10 or be diverted to I-55 depending on which side of the interstate they were on.

Traffic could also go across the Lake Pontchatrain Causeway on I-10 East to I-59.

The plan requires a number of new ramps to be added or widened, new crossovers and other items at a cost of $7.5 million.

"I'm impressed, I think it's a good plan," New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin said. "Let's just hope we never have to use it."

[MSRobi911]

Ya know.....New Orleans has a problem with evacuations, BUT the evacuation with Ivan tied up the roads in Mississippi and our residents couldn't get out. So there is a big problem with routing a lot of the traffic east bound to MS and then up Hwy. 49 which is where most people on the coast go as that is the main route north from the coast and when traffic wasn't flowing on I-59 they went on to Hwy. 49. It took people 8 hours to get from I-10 at Hwy. 49 to Hattiesburg. This is normal 1 hour drive at the most. I know there was a break down in communications between LA and MS highway departments as MS did not enact the contraflow on Highway 49 and LA did not start it on I-59 until way late in the ballgame, so to speak.

With a storm coming in to the MS/LA area it seems contraindicated to route people to MS as they are in just as much danger as the ones in South LA, i.e. Hurricane Georges....until it went ashore in Pascagoula the weather men where saying its going to New Orleans, its going to New Orleans.......hello....it didn't go to New Orleans. In my experience of going thru storms I have noticed that the majority of Hurricanes turn to the east before landfall, why, I don't know, I'm not a meterologist, but once they start getting close to land for some reason they tend to go east of their heading...i.e. Ivan was a good example.

If a storm is headed for New Orleans, MS is gonna get the East side of the storm which is the worst side, maybe not directly, but it will get the coast because of the close proximity.

I'm not saying that LA people should not be allowed to use the roads in the state of MS, but some plan other than what they had designed and some cooperation between the 2 states needs to worked out. From reading this report I don't get the feeling that they have a much better plan in place, maybe to just get the people out of the city, but not out of south Louisiana. My husband asked basically the same questions as I have posed in this note at the last meeting of local law enforcement personnel on the coast and was given the answer, "We're working on it".

Mary

[Ixolib]

...From reading this report I don't get the feeling that they have a much better plan in place, maybe to just get the people out of the city, but not out of south Louisiana....

Mary

I had the same thought, Mary, when reading the "plan". And to think that they can narrow the precise time of landfall to 30 hours, 50 hours, etc., out is stretching things a bit. As far as contra-flow only for a cat 3 or above, I'm wondering about that one too. Guarantee that a full-fledged cat 2 will push enough water up and in that they'd of wished they used contra-flow for ANY landfalling hurricane with a bead on N.O.

In any event, I'm staying put no matter the category. With all the congestion that has now found itself into this neck of the woods, it just ain't worth it for me to go north. And anyway, Hattisburg, Baton Rouge, Montgomery all get their fair share of tornadoes every time a storm landfalls in their state – so what's the difference between here and there!! If the surge isn't a problem (and it's not for me), I believe I'll just avoid the highway hassles…

p.s. - when did they start calling the twin spans over the lake the Causeway?? I think there were a few editorial errors or mis-representations in the SunHerald report??

[MSRobi911]

I agree Ixolib....first time in my life I ever evacuated was for Ivan and we went North to Meridian, we went up the AL/MS state line on the back roads and had a fairly easy trip. BUT when the storm got up that way it tore Meridian a new one with all the Tornadoes. You couldn't travel on the roads for all the trees being down across the highways. We were at a deer hunting camp and couldn't get out till they cut apart a huge oak tree that had been toppled across the road. Then couldn't get home till the next day. I definitely did not like that. Think I will go to the courthouse from now on, just like I have for all the others except Camille and Frederic and I was at Singing River Hospital for those, Camille I was 14, but Frederic I was working in the ER and had to be there. If the surge got to the 4th floor of the courthouse I might as well say goodbye to everybody and everything I knew in Pascagoula anyway! We had 1 1/2 feet of water in our house from Georges and there was water a little higher than that with Camille or so we have been told...the outside AC unit was built up on a square of 6 high cement cinder blocks to protect from the flood waters after Camille....it didn't do that for Georges..it was 5' outside..thank the Lord for boarding up windows and reinforced windows and doors! When we saw the 24 X 30 foot section of the beach park pier in our next door neighbors yard, we knew we were in trouble before we ever got inside the house.

Mary

[LaPlaceFF]

p.s. - when did they start calling the twin spans over the lake the Causeway?? I think there were a few editorial errors or mis-representations in the SunHerald report??

cause·way

NOUN:

A raised roadway, as across water or marshland.
A paved highway.

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English caucewei : cauce, raised road (from Norman French caucie, from Medieval Latin calcita (via), paved (road), from Latin calx , calc-, limestone; see calx ) + wei, road (variant of way; see way )

[HollynLA]

Ever since I can remember, the twin spans over Lake Ponchatrain were called the "causeway", I've never heard them called anything but that.

I think LA needs to communicate better for the contraflow to work. The problem with Ivan was that when the mayor recommended for residents to leave, it was about 4 hours later before they activated the contraflow. Also, LA residents were NOT sent towards the MS area, they were directed to go west towards Baton Rouge and north. Some people may have went towards MS just to get out of the gridlock heading towards Baton Rouge, but officials did not tell them to go east towards MS.

[MSRobi911]

From above article:

"To help eliminate some of the bottlenecks, contraflow would begin closer to New Orleans with all four lanes of I-10 used for westbound traffic. Residents would have only three entrances available and would either stay on I-10 or be diverted to I-55 depending on which side of the interstate they were on.

Traffic could also go across the Lake Pontchatrain Causeway on I-10 East to I-59. "

I-10 goes east and west....not north......

When they get to I-59 and its backed up...where they gonna go???? east that's where cause they won't be allowed to turn around and go back all the off ramps will be blocked, or that is what the MS plan is to block all entrances and exits except for a few designated ones, just like LA is talking about.

Not trying to be argumentative, but if you don't know to turn coming out of Slidell and your in the wrong lane there is nothing you can do but turn and go on I-10, same as if your in the wrong lane and don't notice where you are, you end up around Hattiesburg somewhere......that has happend to too many people from Missississippi that I know! Including one of the doctors I work for who has gone to New Orleans more times than I can count but he does this constantly!

Mary

[storm4u]

If there plan wasnt good enough before they should have thought of a better one much sooner. I think that everyone should come up with a better plan then what they already have!! It just may save your life!!!

[sunny]

If there plan wasnt good enough before they should have thought of a better one much sooner. I think that everyone should come up with a better plan then what they already have!! It just may save your life!!!

I am 44, and as far as I can remember, this is only the third evacuation called for - Andrew in 92, Georges in 98, and Ivan last year. We are learning from past mistakes. So give us a break, will ya?!

My advice - get a map. There are others roads you can use to evacuate other than just the Interstate or 61. Get your plan ready at the beginning of the season, that way you don't panic if and when the order comes down.

[MGC]

The causeway runs between Jefferson Parish and Manderville. The Twin Span runs from New Orleans East to Slidell. Both highways should be utilized to evacuate New Orleans. A word to the wise in Mississippi. If you are planning to leave for a hurricane I'd give serious consideration of leaving before the evacuation notice is given to the New Orleans area. I doubt this new and improved play will work any better than the last one.....MGC

[sunny]

The causeway runs between Jefferson Parish and Manderville. The Twin Span runs from New Orleans East to Slidell. Both highways should be utilized to evacuate New Orleans. A word to the wise in Mississippi. If you are planning to leave for a hurricane I'd give serious consideration of leaving before the evacuation notice is given to the New Orleans area. I doubt this new and improved play will work any better than the last one.....MGC

I doubt it, too...

[Ixolib]

The causeway runs between Jefferson Parish and Manderville. The Twin Span runs from New Orleans East to Slidell. Both highways should be utilized to evacuate New Orleans. A word to the wise in Mississippi. If you are planning to leave for a hurricane I'd give serious consideration of leaving before the evacuation notice is given to the New Orleans area. I doubt this new and improved play will work any better than the last one.....MGC

Thanks, MGC - That's what I was trying to indicate in the first place!! Causeway runs north/south, Twin Span runs east/west. That was my point about the "errors" in the SunHerald article. The "Causeway" won't take you to I-59, but the "Twin Span" (AKA I-10) will, right?

http://www.thecauseway.com

[MGC]

Yes, the Twin Span is I-10. La officals will only clog up both sides of the interstate instead of one. Unless you leave 2 days before the predicted hit you will be sitting in traffic......MGC

[cajungal]

There was an article about it in the Houma Courier yesterday. If a Cat 3 Storm threatnes South Louisiana, there will a mandatory evacution for South Terrebonne Parish and South Lafourche Parishes 72 hours out. And a evacuation for the rest of Terrebonne and Lafourche 50 hours out. I live in northern Terrebonne Parish and was never under a mandatory evacuation before. Volunteer basis only. I wonder with the new plan, if we will be under a mandatory evacuation; too. Things have changed since Andrew hit here almost 13 years ago. With the coastal erosion, we are a lot closer to the Gulf now.

[Ixolib]

There was an article about it in the Houma Courier yesterday. If a Cat 3 Storm threatnes South Louisiana, there will a mandatory evacution for South Terrebonne Parish and South Lafourche Parishes 72 hours out. And a evacuation for the rest of Terrebonne and Lafourche 50 hours out. I live in northern Terrebonne Parish and was never under a mandatory evacuation before. Volunteer basis only. I wonder with the new plan, if we will be under a mandatory evacuation; too. Things have changed since Andrew hit here almost 13 years ago. With the coastal erosion, we are a lot closer to the Gulf now.

So... Does that mean ANYTIME a CAT 3+ is within 864 miles (assuming it's moving at 12mph), that the lower parishes will be evacuated? In my experience, I've never known any forecast to be specific to a point of landfall at 864 miles away - or even close to a specific hour of landfall!! I mean, how far is the Yucatan Peninsula away from the LA coastline? It's crazy to think anyone is gonna leave anywhere as soon as a CAT 3 storm enters the Gulf – except maybe Key West or the DTs. I guess the question comes down to this: What is meant by "72/50 hours out"? Out of WHERE??

[BayouVenteux]

So... Does that mean ANYTIME a CAT 3+ is within 864 miles (assuming it's moving at 12mph), that the lower parishes will be evacuated? In my experience, I've never known any forecast to be specific to a point of landfall at 864 miles away - or even close to a specific hour of landfall!! I mean, how far is the Yucatan Peninsula away from the LA coastline? It's crazy to think anyone is gonna leave anywhere as soon as a CAT 3 storm enters the Gulf – except maybe Key West or the DTs. I guess the question comes down to this: What is meant by "72/50 hours out"? Out of WHERE??

I think most people, in coastal south Louisiana anyway, prick up their ears and start paying close attention anytime a major storm is crossing S. Fla or "running the slots", as one local met likes to say, on into the Gulf. The problem comes in well-meaning gov't. agencies formulating arbitrary speed/time frame preparation parameters with regard to landfall. IMO, the state and parish gov'ts. simply can't rely on a "red zone"-type distance / estimated time of landfall to cover when to launch evac and storm prep modes. It has to be a case-by-case, call it-as-you-see it decision based on common sense and close guidance from the NHC/TPC.

To illustrate what 72 hours can mean, in 1965, at +72 hours before making landfall at Grand Isle, Hurricane Betsy was out over the Bahamas moving slowly southwest. In 1992, 72 hours before landfall in the marshes of Terrebonne Parish, Hurricane Andrew was picking up steam as it neared the Bahamas from the east. In either situation, would state, parish or local governments have had the foresight to convince most people in the Louisiana coastal parishes affected to pack up and move inland 3 days out? Would anyone have taken them seriously?
It will be very interesting indeed to see how the next "long tracker" gets handled with regard to prep and evac.

[Ixolib]

It will be very interesting indeed to see how the next "long tracker" gets handled with regard to prep and evac.

Interesting, indeed!! Even if a storm is "heading" for a particular point on a particular coastline, there is NO WAY that any sensible government can believe they can effectively implement and enforce a mandatory evacuation as a result of a storm that is 72 hours "out". Question remains - out of WHERE?? Like you said, Andrew was still well east of the Gulf Stream 72 hours before it made landfall in LA. Whoda figured that!!??

This is a goofy plan that, even if successfully accomplished once, will almost certainly ensure anyone who evacuated will not do it the next time (the boy who cried wolf, yaddy, yaddy). Unless through some miracle the storm actually maintained course, speed, and intensity and made landfall exactly where predicted 72 hours previous...

[Wpwxguy]

Lets hope that they do get a good evac. plan. I live well north of Lake Ponchartrain and have no plans of leaving. There are secondary roads north of the lake that can aleviate a lot of traffic. For instance, 190 thru Covington would take you to LA 25 north through Folsom, Franklinton, and on to Tylertown MS. I know people like to stay on the interstate, but if your not going anywhere your wasting valuable time. Get yourself a map ahead of time. It's well worth it.