Recap of Saturday Hurricane Laura Recovery Efforts
Alexandria, La. (August 29, 2020) — City of Alexandria crews continued working throughout the day to restore utility services and clean up damage caused by Hurricane Laura.
“It was another day of good progress,” said Alexandria Mayor Jeffrey W. Hall. “We still have a lot of work to do. We have neighborhoods like Martin Park and Airview Terrace that are still in the dark. I want the residents in those areas, and everyone who is still without power to know we are coming. Some areas were hit harder than others in terms of damage to the infrastructure. But we are working to get everyone restored as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience. I know it’s hard, and please know we won’t stop working until we have everyone back in service.”
As of 6 p.m., 17,200 Alexandria customers had electric power restored, which is 69 percent of the city’s approximately 25,000 electric customers. “We have restored service to the hospitals, nursing homes and water wells,” said Utility Director Michael Marcotte, noting 53 of the city’s 57 circuits are back online. “The main corridors will be restored tomorrow and then we can focus attention on lines serving parts of streets and individual homes.”
Regarding water service, Marcotte said we have restored the system to acceptable pressure, but the entire City of Alexandria remains under a boil advisory until further notice. “If residents will continue to conserve water and only use what is essential over the weekend, we believe we can keep the system stabilized,” Hall said.
To assist residents with their water needs, the city started distributing free packages of bottled water Saturday evening at the Alexander Fulton Mini Park. The city received two truckloads of water Saturday and more water is expected Sunday. Water distribution will resume at 8 a.m. Sunday in the mini park, located on Murray Street across from City Hall. There is a limit of two 24-bottle packages per vehicle.
Also, to help residents without electricity, the city opened two charging stations, one at the Bolton Avenue Community Center and one at the Youth & Teen Center on Sylvester Street. Both charging stations will be open again Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Facemasks are required and only one person per household should enter due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Sanitation and Street Department crews also continued working to clear downed trees and other debris throughout the city. Crews will be back out Sunday to continue cleanup efforts. The city call center will be staffed from 7 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. at 318-473-1301 for residents to report outages and storm damage. Residents may also use the AlexConnects App to report service needs.
