Hurricane Protection Work in Progress

• Published: Jun 1, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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As Louisiana heads into its third hurricane season since Katrina and Rita struck in 2005, work continues on providing better storm protection for coastal communities. Some key elements are:

Baton Rouge to offer evacuation shelters only as last resort

If hurricane evacuations occur this year, the message in Baton Rouge will be for people to keep moving north, out of harm’s way, said JoAnne Moreau, city-parish director of homeland security and emergency preparedness.

“We’ll basically serve as a last-resort refuge,” she said.

Hurricane evacuations can be regional events involving more than just Louisiana residents, which underscores the need to keep people moving north, she said.

Moreau stressed the need for personal responsibility.

“You don’t want to be reliant on someone else for your safety,” she said.

Families need to decide what their plans will be if they must evacuate, including where to go and what to take, she said.

Canal closure structures complete in New Orleans

Temporary pumps at three drainage canals in New Orleans have been installed and tested.

Before Katrina, the 17th Street, Orleans Avenue and London Avenue canals let New Orleans pump rain water out of the city into Lake Pontchartrain. But Katrina’s storm surge through the lake pushed water up into the canals, causing floodwall and levee failures that helped flood the city.

After Katrina, the corps built gates that can be closed for storms. It also installed pumps to drain the rain water in the canals into Lake Pontchartrain when the gates are closed.

The corps still plans to build permanent pump stations at the mouth of each canal.