Francine is now projected to make landfall east of its original forecast, saving Lafayette from the brunt of the storm. New Orleans is under a hurricane watch.
“Today we are in a different situation than we were in yesterday,” said M-P Monique Boulet, to start her Tuesday press conference.
Lafayette is nonetheless preparing for a big storm. Even a diminished Francine will be disruptive.
- Lafayette’s primary shelter is open and ready for business, as of 4 p.m. Tuesday. Boulet says all staging is also done. The shelter has hot meals lined up for tonight and tomorrow.
- For transportation needs, the city bus system is running free of fare today until 8:30 p.m. and stops at the shelter. Residents should contact 211 for transportation needs.
LUS is prepared to respond to expected outages. Prior weather events, even smaller ones, have caused thousands of homes to lose electricity.
“Expect to be without electricity for some time,” said Boulet.
LUS is bringing in more than 200 outside personnel. A third of those arrive Wednesday, the rest Thursday. Repair crews will only begin to fix outages once conditions are safe.
“Our intent is to deploy before sunrise Thursday morning,” said LUS Director Jeff Stewart. “We have the right amount of people coming in to help, and we will operate quickly and safely.”
Lafayette is now ready to aid its neighbors, with the heart of the storm expected to hit east. The run of storms that hit the Lake Charles and Houma areas sent many residents to Lafayette for after-storm recovery.
“We can come with just about anything,” said Chief of Staff Christina Dayries, who is also serving as interim emergency manager.