LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / November 22, 2000

HAHNVILLE – The rainstorm which swept south Louisiana last weekend hadthe phones ringing constantly for nearly 12 hours at the Department ofEmergency Preparedness in the St. Charles Parish courthouse basement.

Director Tab Troxler said 243 calls poured in, “one right after the other,”during Brandon Touchard’s 12-hour shift, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday,forcing him to work an extra hour to finish typing his phone call log.

Despite the fact the Emergency Operations Center’s rain gauge was out ofcommission, having been struck by lightning some weeks ago, Troxler saidthe estimated amount of rainfall was one-quarter to one-half inch of rain,per hour, Friday and Saturday.

That was based on ground-level radar analysis of storm intensity, volume andspeed.

The storm event, as emergency personnel call it, brought some calls forsandbags out of concern for rising water in canals and ditches. Between 4:20p.m. and 5:30 p.m. several such calls came in from places as far apart asDestrehan (Riverview Drive) and Des Allemands (Nedd Lane).

Following that were some concerns about sewer lines backing up, but thesewere likewise handled, Troxler continued.

All pumps were working and Troxler reported that he was notified during theweekend only to be informed that though the crews were very busy, “theywere keeping up and everything was under control.”During the following eight-hour shift with Dee Matherne working from 8 p.m.

Saturday until 8 a.m. Sunday, the volume of telephone calls scaled back to anestimated 100 in number. The high point during that shift came around 3a.m. then faded as day broke.

By Sunday, as the rains passed and the skies cleared, the storm seemed tofade into memory, with little damage to St. Charles Parish.

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