9-1-20
I-TEN NEAR WHISKEY BAY HAS BEEN CLOSED BECAUSE OF AN OVERTURNED TANKER THAT IS LEAKING FUEL. EASTBOUND TRAFFIC IS BEING DIVERTED TO
I-49 AND THEN HIGHWAY 190. THE WESTBOUND TRAFFIC IS BEING DIVERTED AT HIGHWAY NINE SEVENTY-FIVE IN LOBDELL. THE CLOSURE BEGAN AT FOUR-TWELVE THIS MORNING AND THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT ESTIMATES IT WILL REOPEN SHORTLY AFTER SEVEN A-M.
The death toll from Hurricane Laura has risen to 19 people across Louisiana and Texas. The latest death was reported Monday by Louisiana’s health department. A 49-year-old man in central Louisiana died when a tree he was cutting fell on him. Meanwhile, Louisiana residents forced to evacuate because of Hurricane Laura, who are returning home to survey the damage to homes and businesses, are worrying they won’t get enough help from state and federal officials.
THE LOUISIANA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD IN LAKE CHARLES IS BUSY HELPING WITH RECOVERY EFFORTS BY PROVIDING WATER AND HOT MEALS TO MANY IN NEED. SYLVIA MASTERS HAS MORE.
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Louisiana’s governor is dismissing a local official’s opposition to opening emergency shelters for those displaced by Hurricane Laura as largely irrelevant. Gov. John Bel Edwards said Monday that’s because the state is trying to house evacuees in hotels as opposed to group shelters amid the coronavirus pandemic. A top aide to Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Josh Guillory on Saturday sent an email to local nonprofit groups urging them to pause establishing shelters. Chief Administrative Officer Cydra Wingerter wrote that officials feared a “serious, local security threat” because of recent protests over the killing of Trayford Pellerin.
CROWLEY MAYOR TIM MONCEAUX SAYS DEBRIS REMOVAL IN THE CITY WILL BEGIN ON THURSDAY. HE SAYS IT IS EXPECTED TO TAKE FOUR DAYS TO DO THE JOB. RESIDENTS ARE BEING ASKED TO PUT THE DEBRIS IN THREE SEPERATE PILES…A VEGETATIVE PILE, CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS, WHICH INCLUDES MATTRESSES, AND WHITE GOODS, WHICH ARE THINGS LIKE APPLIANCES. MONCEAUX SAYS IF THE PILE HAS A MIX OF THESE ITEMS, THE PILE WILL NOT BE PICKED UP.
THE NUMBERS ON YESTERDAY’S COVID-NINETEEN REPORT FROM THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH WERE PRETTY LOW. THERE ARE THREE HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR NEW CASES OF COVID-NINETEEN, MOVING THE TOTAL PAST ONE HUNDRED FORTY-EIGHT THOUSAND. NINETEEN NEW DEATHS WERE REPORTED, INCREASING THE TOTAL TO FOUR THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED EIGHTY-SEVEN. THERE ARE NINETEEN FEWER HOSPITALIZATIONS AND ELEVEN LESS PATIENTS ON VENTILATORS.
ACADIANA HAD FIVE NEW DEATHS, WHICH IS MORE THAN A QUARTER OF THE STATEWIDE TOTAL. ACADIANA NOW HAS SIX HUNDRED TOTAL DEATHS. THERE ARE FORTY-FOUR MORE CASES IN THE REGION, INCLUDING TWENTY-FOUR IN LAFAYETTE PARISH. THE TOTAL IS OVER TWENTY-THREE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED.
SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA HAD JUST SEVEN NEW CASES OF COVID-NINETEEN. FOUR ARE IN ALLEN PARISH. THERE ARE TWO NEW DEATHS, BOTH IN ALLEN PARISH. THE TOTAL FOR THE REGION IS TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY-EIGHT.
