St. Mary Parish focus shifts from Marco to Laura

Focus has shifted from Tropical Storm Marco to Tropical Storm Laura in St. Mary Parish with a close eye on the western portion of the parish as more is learned about Laura’s projected path.
Parish President David Hanagriff said after the 4 p.m. briefing with the National Weather Service that Laura is projected to hit around Cameron early Thursday.
“With that being said, this could be very similar to Rita,” he said. “In fact, in some ways, it could be more, especially if it’s larger than a Category 2.”
Main areas of concern with Laura approaching, Hanagriff said, are Cypremort and Burns points as well as the Franklin areas where they received water in the past.
The National Weather Service has issued a hurricane watch from Port Bolivar, Texas, to west of Morgan City.
Monday, the parish issued a voluntary evacuation for areas south of the Intracoastal Waterway, and it may be upgraded to a mandatory evacuation if the storm stays on its projected path and strengthens, Hanagriff said.
“The levees and gates that we put in place, I think we’re far more protected than we were for Rita going forward,” Hanagriff said.
He said he thinks they will have a better picture of Laura’s track Tuesday, especially in the 10 a.m. briefing.
The focus shifted to Laura after Marco has become “really little to no concern of ours as of right now,” Hanagriff said, noting it’s basically a tropical depression that will present few problems for St. Mary Parish.
While the current evacuation is a voluntary one for Laura, Hanagriff encouraged residents to leave these areas, noting many people had to be rescued last year when Barry impacted the area.
While the rain is expected to come Wednesday evening, Hanagriff cautioned that in the past, the water has risen following the storm.
“It’s not necessarily when the eye makes contact,” he said. “It’s usually within the 24 hours afterwards, so Thursday is going to be the big day to watch, especially with rising water.”
West end closures to provide protection have taken place along the Franklin, Yellow Bayou and Hanson canals as well as flood gates in the eastern end of the parish in Berwick and Morgan City.