ST. LANDRY PARISH — The skies may be clear, but St. Landry Parish leaders say the flood threat is still approaching as water moves downstream from Avoyelles Parish,
St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard held a press conference Friday to update residents on preparations underway and said northern parts of the parish could begin seeing water in the coming days, with the full impact expected to take longer to arrive.
“Next couple of days, Palmetto, Melville, and Bayou Jack, we’re thinking they're gonna start seeing a lot of waters and it's gonna start coming down, but the full effect of it won't come down until another 10 days where the entire area that we have will be evacuated and need to be covered,” Bellard said.
Bellard says parish officials are preparing ahead of time to help residents who may need additional support during a possible evacuation.
“What my plan is is to keep the elderly people in my parish. A lot of these individuals don't, they don't want to move out of the parish. They don't want to, and I don't blame them. I mean, look, so we're gonna make sure that we take care of the elderly people and keep them close to home,” Bellard said.
Those preparations are already underway. Legacy of Palmetto Nursing Home has begun moving residents to its designated host facility, Legacy of Plaquemine, in Iberville Parish.
Bellard says residents should not let the current conditions create a false sense of security, warning that flooding could arrive after the rain has already stopped.
“There's going to be sunshine probably whenever the water gets to you. We're going to be telling you and we're going to be asking you to evacuate your area because we know what we're being told by the experts that the water is coming,” Bellard said.
Using information from the National Weather Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and state emergency officials, the parish has prepared multiple locations to support residents if evacuations become necessary.
Bellard says the Yambilee Building and Indian Hills Country Club have been prepared as possible shelters, while another location in Lafayette is also being worked on to help handle the expected need.
“The estimated amount of people to be evacuated is around 6500, so that's where we are right now,” Bellard said.
While no mass evacuation order has been issued yet, Bellard says parish leaders are focused on when action may need to be taken.
“We know we're going to be doing some type of evacuation. The timeline could be tomorrow, could be Sunday,” Bellard said.
Residents with questions about the situation are encouraged to call (337) 948-3688. Residents who experience flood damage are also encouraged to report impacts at damage.la.gov to assist emergency officials with damage assessments.
