STORM RECOVERY UPDATE: Officials gathered at the Caddo Sheriff’s Office of Homeland Security yesterday to give an update of storm recovery efforts in Shreveport-Bossier as well as Caddo and Bossier parishes and surrounding areas. Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux issued a state of emergency for the city and Governor John Bel Edwards also issued a state of emergency for Northwest Louisiana following the destruction caused by a severe thunderstorm and an EF-1 tornado.
The storm, which began in Texas in the late hours of June 15, crossed into Caddo Parish at roughly 1:30 a.m. June 16 and left nearly a quarter of a million people in SWEPCO's service area without power. Most of the city saw damage after winds measured over 80 mph brought down trees and powerlines, many on homes. According to the National Weather Service in Shreveport, part of the damage in the parish was caused by an EF-1 tornado.
Following the storm, Shreveport residents have dealt with multiple days of power outages in extreme temperatures and heat advisories, with heat index values between 105 and 110 degrees.
Erica Bryant, Caddo Parish Administrator gave an update on cooling centers and ice distribution centers.
“We are continuing to maintain cooling centers, we will have one tomorrow at the Highland Center from 9am to 4pm, Galilee from 8am to 8pm. Morningstar (Baptist Church) is still operating as a cooling center as well as an overnight center,” Bryant said. “We’re also continuing with ice distribution, we had successful ice distribution but we still have ice left so we will continue that tomorrow.”
There will be five ice distribution sites and cooling centers throughout Caddo Parish. You can check for locations on our Website redriverradio.org. There will be a heat advisory in effect until 8pm today.
Speaking on behalf of Emergency Responders and law Enforcement – Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith urged everyone to be aware of possible heat exhaustion.
“If you begin to feel weak from heat exhaustion, don’t hesitate to call 911,” Smith said. “If run across someone and you think they may have a heat-related condition, call 911.”
Signs of heat exhaustion include dizziness, extreme fatigue, rapid pulse, headache and disorientation and this condition can be fatal so call 911 immediately if you suspect someone has heat exhaustion. As to how many were without power, SWEPCO’s manager of external affairs-Michael Corbin gave an update.
“As of 2(pm) o’clock today SWEPCO still has about 112,000 customers without power, of that 63,700 are from Louisiana more specific to our region which we call the Shreveport district which includes Caddo and Bossier parishes. About 60,759 customers are still without power,” Corbin explained.
Corbin added there were about 3,000 workers out getting power restored throughout the SWEPCO service area. According to latest information on SWEPCO’s Customer Outage Map – an estimated 97,382 customers are still without power. As to when all regions will have power – SWEPCO’s latest report on their website gives these following estimates: For the Natchitoches District in Louisiana: 10pm Tuesday June 20th, Texarkana District in Texas- 10pm Wednesday June 21st, Longview District in Texas – 10pm Friday, and Shreveport District in Louisiana – 10pm Saturday June 24th.
Several Caddo Parish School District sites and schools will reopen Tuesday, while others will remain closed due to power outages. According to a press release from Bossier Parish Schools: due to problems associated with the widespread power outages at campuses throughout Bossier Parish, ALL summer school programming is canceled for Tuesday, June 20.
