All residents of Orange and Jefferson counties were ordered to leave as Tropical Storm Laura slugged its way toward the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where it was projected to strengthen into at least a Category 2 hurricane. . Throughout the day, forecasters grew increasingly certain that it would make landfall around the Texas-Louisiana border.
Around 8 p.m., they informed Jefferson County officials that the increased certainty now included a direction change that prompted the order.
“It’s what I call the 2020 conundrum,” County Judge Jeff Branick said before being given the update. “If it goes 20 miles to the east, we should be OK. If it goes 20 miles to the west, we better hold on.”
Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bill Bartie was the first to order evacuations.
“Just go to higher ground,” Bartie said, announcing the evacuation was to begin at 6 a.m. “Go to San Antonio. Go to Austin. Get away from here.”
Bartie acknowledged the lingering uncertainty among modeling projections and said he would be willing to relax the order should the forecast change for the better. But with a potential storm surge of between 9 and 11 feet for his area, he said he felt it was time for action.
The National Weather Service’s Lake Charles office warned that the storm could inundate Sabine Pass, the Port Arthur levee and parts of Hilldebradt and Taylor bayous under more than 6 feet of water. That convinced Branick to issue a partial evacuation order Monday evening for the affected areas.
That order later was expanded to the entire county based on the new information.
All area cities were expected to issue their own mirroring Branick’s.
Beaumont Mayor Becky warned residents who choose to stay that emergency services personnel would cease operations once wind speeds reach 35 miles per hour.
Bartie said his city has made arrangements to help transport individuals who can’t get themselves out of Port Arthur. Like so much else this year, those plans are complicated by the coronavirus and the requirements for social distancing. For example, he said, buses can take only 15 people — fewer than half the usual capacity.
In Orange County, residents who can’t evacuate themselves can board buses that will be leaving from Lamar State College, 410 Front St. in Orange, or Vidor Elementary School at 400 Old U.S. 90. Individuals who cannot get to one of the transportation sites can call their city or, for the unincorporated areas, county to receive assistance.
The Texas Department of Transportation had no immediate plans Monday night was not anticipating starting contraflow in the Southeast Texas area.
Such a decision would be made in concert with the Department of Public Safety.
Official orders notwithstanding, many Southeast Texans spent Monday preparing for the storm.
Residents filled sandbags, boarded up their windows and shopped for essentials. Government officials issued disaster declarations and continued tweaking plans for shelter, rescues and other emergency responses, should they be necessary.
Many Southeast Texas school districts, which have struggled to reopen after the coronavirus shutdown last spring, announced they would close once again.
When determining whether to heed voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders, among other storm-related decisions, Entergy Texas recommends residents review their emergency plans and make any needed changes as if they’re going to be without power.
Vice President of Customer Service Stuart Barrett suggested residents use the company’s storm planning tool at entergystormcenter.com to help make those decisions.
With disaster declarations issued, other planning for potential needs, such as a shelter for residents and restoring power from downed power lines, continued. While Southeast Texas has done its fair share of storm planning, officials are doing so this time through the lens of coronavirus.
For example, to observe social distancing, Jefferson County officials have been working with the Red Cross on sheltering residents. But this year, that could include the use of hotel rooms to allow individuals to social distance.
It’s unclear what the cost difference would be between that and a shelter at Ford Park or some other arrangement that deploys the use of, essentially, a large room with beds set up in it.
A disaster declaration issued Monday afternoon from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and President Donald Trump clears the way for federal government reimbursement for evacuations and shelters, according to a news release from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“Texas is grateful to President Trump and our partners at FEMA for quickly granting this Federal Emergency Declaration,” Abbott said in the release. “As tropical storms Marco and Laura head toward the coast, the state of Texas is working with local and federal partners to ensure our communities have the resources they need to respond to these storms.”
The declaration joins others that have been issued by all Southeast Texas counties and several municipalities as well.
For area residents planning to stay in their homes, Entergy Texas warned that coronavirus-related precautions could extend power restoration wait times, especially if there are widespread outages. Crews will continue to practice social distancing while in the field and customers are asked to stay away from work zones.
Entergy Texas Senior Communications Specialist Allie Payne noted that the company has several months of experience working with such precautions — powering customers’ ability to work from home and emergency operations center and hospitals that are fighting the pandemic.
Even still, it means fewer workers will be stretched across a larger number of staging sites. But Entergy is working with its regional partners and has additional equipment such as drones and airboats should it be necessary.
kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com
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