New Orleans is prepared for any impacts from Tropical Storm Bertha, Mayor Helena Moreno said in a video posted to social media Tuesday (July 21).
That includes the Sewerage and Water Board, which came under fire for failures during post-Tropical Storm Arthur in June and further failures in July that caused flooding in parts of the city.
“ Sewerage and Water Board has extra employees working, making sure that the pumps and power systems are good to go,” she said.
As of the National Hurricane Center’s 10 a.m. forecast on Wednesday, Bertha has maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour, moving west-northwest at 6 miles per hour. Weakening is forecast during the next couple of days, but Bertha could maintain tropical storm intensity through late Thursday.
A westward motion with an increase in forward speed is expected to resume later today and continue through Friday. On the forecast track, the center of Bertha will move near or along the Louisiana and upper Texas coasts through Thursday, and then move farther inland into Texas on Friday.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. Bertha is forecast to bring the threat of tropical storm-force wind gusts to coastal areas of Plaquemines, Jefferson, Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes, heavy rainfall generally south of I-10, and coastal flooding up to 2 to 4 feet above normally dry ground.
The coastal areas of Mississippi and southeast Louisiana will have the greatest threat, especially along and south of I-10.
S&WB officials said they have employees at every pump — even the unmanned ones — and several backup pumps ready to go.
Additionally, the body that oversees New Orleans’ levee system has closed most of the floodgates around the metro area in preparation for the storm — including areas in St. Bernard and Jefferson Parishes.
The New Orleans Flood Protection Authority–East has closed every floodgate in the city, except for the Bayou Bienvenue Sector Gate.
The scheduled closure of the Florida Avenue Bridge has been canceled.
Several New Orleans-area schools have transitioned to virtual in anticipation of the storm, including Loyola University, LSU New Orleans and Southern University New Orleans.
St. Tammany Parish officials say the forecast has improved slightly for the parish, though they’re still preparing.
“Confidence has increased that the strongest winds and heaviest rainfall will remain south of the parish,” The St. Tammany Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said in a statement. “Wednesday into Thursday morning remains the primary impact period, with gusty winds capable of isolated power outages, generally less than 1" of rain, and minor coastal flooding possible.”
There are currently no school or government closures scheduled for the parish.
Jefferson Parish officials said they’ve drained the canals along the parish in anticipation of heavy rainfall. The parish plans to operate its government buildings as usual Wednesday, though the parish council has relocated its annual Grand Isle meeting to Gretna.
The Grand Tarpon Rodeo, originally scheduled for Wednesday in Grand Isle, has been pushed back to Thursday.
Coastal Louisiana is set to see the worst of Tropical Storm Bertha, including life-threatening storm surge, heavy rain and wind gusts.
St. Bernard Parish officials are asking residents near the coast to move boats and other assets inside the levee protection system before weather conditions begin to deteriorate. All canals in the parish have been brought down to the lowest possible levels.
Plaquemines Parish officials said there's no evacuation order in place. Officials also said they're lowering canal levels in anticipation of heavy rain, and touted a levee system that's been heavily reinforced since Hurricane Ida in 2021. Plaquemines officials declared a parish-wide state of emergency on Wednesday to help the parish coordinate with state- and federal-level agencies for storm preparation and recovery.
Terrebonne Parish officials said they've moved sandbags to locations on the levee that sustained damage from Francine, as an emergency temporary fix. Parish residents should expect high tides of 2 to 4 feet and around 2 to 4 inches of rain.
