HOUMA, La. — The Terrebonne Parish jail has been evacuated ahead of Tropical Storm Sally, officials said.
Meanwhile, patrols on the roads will be doubled beginning 6 a.m. Monday and deputies will work 12-hour shifts. The Sheriff’s administrative offices will be closed Monday and Tuesday.
“People with camps and homes in our vulnerable bayou communities need to be confident that their properties will be secure,” Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soignet said. “As we did during our last bout with tropical weather, we are setting up checkpoints and our curfew for those low-lying areas will be enforced. Although the main jail is closed, we have booking procedures in place for anyone caught looting, trespassing or committing similar crimes.”
As for the jail evacuation itself, the sheriff said this was the wisest course of action because the facility does not have a generator capable of running air exchange and cooling systems.
“If power is lost there will be safety risks that I am not willing to take,” Soignet said. “Temporary placement of inmates has been coordinated with the Louisiana Department of Corrections and we are grateful for their assistance. Inmates will be able to contact family once they are settled into these locations. We do not own the building but are discussing correction of this issue with the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government which does.”
The sheriff urges residents to closely monitor trusted websites such as www.tpso.net and www.tpcg.org for further information as conditions dictate. The Sheriff will also post announcements on our Twitter mobile feed, @Terrebonne_SO.
“I have toured some of our communities and see that people are already taking this storm seriously,” he said. “If you haven’t made preparation, please do so now. Don’t focus on the forecast track, which could be subject to change as the storm moves closer to land. We have made our plans and you need to have yours firmed up as well.”
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©2020 The Houma Courier, La.