PORT FOURCHON, La. — From industrial docks to homes on pilings, Port Fourchon, the economic driver of Lafourche Parish is shutting down again, for another storm.
Port Fourchon was a ghost town Thursday night with a mandatory evacuation order in place. Latest storm surge projections show four-to-seven feet of water to the west and three-to-five feet to the east.
“Our storm protocols are pretty tight, pretty good over the years,” Parish President Archie Chaisson said.
Chaisson says preparing for the effects of Hurricane Delta is easier, because preparations from all those other storms this season are still in place.
“It’s just pulling a couple of triggers and making it all come together,” Chaisson said.
One constant issue with storm surge is having to close the low-level stretch of LA 1 from Golden Meadow to Leeville, which is the only way to and from Port Fourchon.
“We know that LA 1 is typically going to go underwater,” Chaisson said.
A $350 million project, combing federal, state and local resources is in the works to raise the highway.
“Hopefully as we talk about storms in the coming years, we won’t have to worry about shutting down LA 1 and impacting Port Fourchon because we’ll have direct drive completely over the marsh,” Chaisson said.
While the water and the birds are calm now, folks who live and work here know that can change quickly, which is why preparing for every storm is a way of life.
“We are at a hundred percent ready and we’re going to be able to ride this thing out hopefully with no problem,” Chaisson said.
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