LAFAYETTE, La. – An official with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (GOHSEP) provided an update on the response to Hurricane Delta and warned residents to be careful if they are using a generator.
Shortly after 5 p.m. Friday, before the storm made landfall, GOHSEP Communications Director Mike Steele said no major problems had been reported yet.
“So far, so good,” said Steele. “Everything that we’re hearing from our people out in the field and from a lot of friends and family across the region, you know it’s not the best of conditions, obviously, when you have this type of storm coming in, but we haven’t really heard of any major, major problems, so far.”
Delta is impacting Louisiana just weeks after Hurricane Laura devastated parts of the region. Nine people died as a result of that storm and many deaths were connected to generators powering homes during outages.
Steele wants residents to know the dangers associates with them.
“With a storm like this, you expect a lot of power outages and the numbers are starting to climb already,” said Steele. “So, we’re asking everybody to really pay attention if they use items like generators, if they aren’t familiar with them. A lot of times people rush out to buy a generator, which can be a great asset to have with mass outages, but if you don’t know how to use them properly, they really can be dangerous. “
If you do use a generator during or after this storm, don’t use it inside a buildings or structure, including garages and carports. Place generators at least 20 feet away from your house. Never try to power your house by plugging generators into wall outlets. And before refueling, turn off generators and let them cool.
When GOHSEP spoke with parish leaders, Steele says he was told residents were heading the warning for Delta and evacuations went off without too many problems.
Steele said GOHSEP wants residents to understand that the hurricane season goes through November.
“There’s no guarantee that this will be the last threat,” said Steele.
