News Release Distributed 07/29/09
Coastal Louisiana residents can gain a better understanding of hurricanes and storm surges and clear up misconceptions about these events in Chauvin Aug. 12, Golden Meadow Aug. 13 and Houma Aug. 17.
Titled “The Next Storm Surge,” the program is sponsored by the LSU AgCenter, Louisiana Sea Grant and Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing.
Sessions will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Ward 7 Citizen’s Club, 5006 Louisiana Highway 56, in Chauvin Aug. 12, at the South Lafourche Library (in the old Wal-Mart building), 16241 E. Main St., in Golden Meadow Aug. 13, and at the Terrebonne Parish Main Library, 151 Library Drive, Houma. Advance registration is not required.
The program will include:
– Historical Hurricane Impacts on Coastal Louisiana; Factors Influencing Hurricane Storm Surge in Coastal Louisiana.
– “What If” Hurricane Storm Surge Impacts on Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes.
– New Flood Zones: What They Mean and How They Will Impact You.
The program, led by Maurice Wolcott of the LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant, will be similar to programs held last year but will include updated information based on experiences with hurricanes Gustav and Ike, as well as changes in the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale and new storm surge models.
LSU AgCenter staff will be on hand to help participants use the Internet to access individual information on ground elevation, wind speed and flood zones.
“It’s not a question of if a storm surge will hit,” Wolcott said. “It’s a question of when a storm surge will hit. We want people to have a better understanding of these events.”
For information, call David Bourgeois at 985-873-6495, Patty Whitney at 985-227-9042, Lauren Ledet at 985-876-5158 ext. 234, or David Gauthe at 985-438-1609.
Denise Attaway
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture