Edouard brushes Cameron, serves as storm practice run

• By JASON BROWN
• Advocate Acadiana bureau
• Published: Aug 6, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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CAMERON — While Tropical Storm Edouard made its way through the Gulf of Mexico, Brenda Conner never thought twice about packing up and getting out of her home in low-lying Cameron Parish.

“Boy, I’m glad I didn’t stay,” the 64-year-old Cameron resident said Tuesday afternoon.

Conner’s mobile home, which was purchased after Hurricane Rita destroyed the family’s home in 2005, was one of three in a neighborhood off of Beach Road that suffered damage from the storm.

Those three were the only damaged homes reported in Cameron Parish.

Conner said she believes the winds that ripped off portions of her home’s siding and threw an aluminum garage over her home were the product of a tornado spun off from the storm.

Elsewhere in this parish of about 7,200 people, Edouard knocked out electricity to portions of the southern part of the parish and flooded parts of two state highways — La. 82 and La. 27. Power was restored and the roads were reopened by Tuesday afternoon.

Officials said Edouard proved to be a reminder of how quickly storms can form.

It also served as an emergency preparedness test for area officials, who were quick to call for an evacuation of lower-lying areas in the parish.

Clifton Hebert, director of the parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, called the evacuation a success with a compliance rate of more than 70 percent. He also praised the level of coordination and cooperation seen between various agencies.

Before the storm made landfall, the parish had received help from the Louisiana National Guard, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and State Police.

The parish also had an opportunity to test its new 700MHz, two-way radio system, which State Police has opened to local and state first responders.

Cameron Parish Sheriff Theos Duhon said their emergency preparedness plan couldn’t have gone any better. He said the new radio system kept the lines of communication open and the information flowing.

“It went real smooth,” Duhon said.