As Hurricane Ida continues to strengthen and is projected to make landfall as a Category 4 on Sunday, St. Charles Parish President Matthew Jewell has ordered a mandatory evacuation for the entirety of St. Charles Parish. This order will go into effect Saturday, August 28 at 6 a.m., and residents must leave the parish no later than Saturday at 5 p.m.
The National Weather Service is predicting that Hurricane Ida could bring wind gusts between 130-156 miles per hour, and St. Charles Parish could see sustained winds of 100 miles per hour, a storm surge of 7-15 feet and the possibility of more than 10 inches of rain.
Jewell initially called for a voluntary evacuation, but updated information throughout the day as Ida strengthened spurred him to shift gears and make the evacuation mandatory.
For residents in need, assisted evacuations will begin Saturday and should only be used as a last resort. Anyone needing to use assisted evacuation should call the Emergency Operations Center at 985-783-5050 by 10 p.m. tonight, Friday, August 27.
Garbage collection is suspended Saturday and will resume once damage assessments can be made.
All government buildings and the courthouse will be closed Monday, August 30 and remain closed until further notice.
The parish is preparing for power outages for multiple weeks to a month, which could inhibit water and sewerage services along with the potential for no access to grocery stores and gas stations.
Sandbag locations will remain open throughout the parish until noon Saturday. Residents are asked to bring ID, take only what you need and bring your own shovel. A list of the locations can be found here.
Boat launches will be closed throughout the parish by sunrise Saturday morning. The Sellars Canal sector gate has been closed ahead of the storm.
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