NEW IBERIA — Some in Iberia Parish are already preparing for the forecasted impact of Hurricane Delta.
At the Port of Iberia, a flood barrier surrounds one of their buildings that is prone to flooding.
The building houses some of the employees, important documents, and it's where the board of commissioners meet, which is why the port's executive director, Craig Romero, says they're not taking any chances with this storm.
"The Port of Iberia, last year, made the decision [to invest in a flood barrier] because, in the last 15 years, this building behind me got water into it," said Romero. "Not a lot of water, just a few inches, but whether it's three inches or three feet, when it gets in, you have to tear walls out, you have to repair, and it was very expensive."
Romero says each time the building flooded, the damage was more than $300,000.
It's also crucial for the port's staff to prepare because of their proximity to the water.
"When the surge comes up, if you're on the wrong side of the storm, water comes up into areas that you've never seen water before," explained Romero. "So, we're doing everything that we can, and business over here will take their equipment and bring it to higher ground as well."
According to Romero, before a storm, they think of the worst case scenario in order to protect themselves.
"We don't want to take it for granted that, 'Oh, it won't happen to us.' I mean, to go to the extent of installing something such as this, it tells you how concerned we are," said Romero. "We just want to make sure we protect, so that we can go forward when the storm comes and passes, [so] we can get back to the normal course of business as soon as we can."
Keep up-to-date with the latest on Delta by checking katc.com/weather
