Arbor Walk Homeowners Blog

Power phone back on around 5 pm

2009-03-25T18:17:00.001-05:00

Power out

2009-03-25T16:57:00.001-05:00

CLECO says should be back soon

Power back on- phone-dsl off

2008-09-12T09:05:00.001-05:00

Here we go again - Power out on Circle as of 600AM

2008-09-12T07:11:00.001-05:00

Just before dawn this morning power went out on the circle. I am not sure about schools or the front of the neighborhood. - JH

Power, Mail and Phone/DSL Back

2008-09-04T17:19:00.002-05:00

Just drove home to see lights on Glendurgan so I assume power is on for the remainder or AW. Also thanks to someone who posted a comment on the last update confirming power is back. Domino's is selling pizza and Fresh Market is open! -JH

Power Still off in front

2008-09-04T12:30:00.001-05:00

As of lunch time power is still of in front (see previous posts). Chick fil a is open and Target and Belk are showing signs of life. Cleco working south of neighborhood on 21. Landlines still out.

JH

Thursday AM Power Update

2008-09-04T08:10:00.002-05:00

As far as I can tell the front of AW (everything but Longue View and Pencarrow) STILL DO NOT HAVE POWER. Longue View and Pencarrow have had power since late afternoon Wednesday. Cleco has several trucks working on lines across 21 from front of neighborhood, so it should not be long. Landlines (ATT) still down. As of last night Charter still down. Water fine and reported as good on St. Tammany government site. Curfew lifted in Parish. Many business open (Outback, Cafe Rani - Mandeville, Walmart, and I am told Rouses). Power now restored to Target center and lights between AW and I-12 functioning. No sign of FEMA (hopefully Target Center will be allow to return to normal this time).

Health care largely functioning again - I am told Walgreens is open and Ochsner North Shore is open until 400 PM today. Parish reports that the hospitals have power.

If anyone from the front of the neighborhood can comment as soon as power is on please do. Also if you are waiting to return you may want to call you immediate neighbors (see cell phone numbers on homeowners lists) for updates.

JH

power update

2008-09-03T18:18:00.001-05:00

aa of 617pm only PC and longue view have power-cleco and sela trucks
in neighborhood -jh

Power back on Circle

2008-09-03T16:45:00.001-05:00

att cell has also strengthened -landllines still down-jh

Utility update from Parish Tuesday Evening

2008-09-02T18:54:00.001-05:00

Utility Information

(08-28-2008)

4:50 PM Tuesday, September 2, 2008

CLECO has restored about 19,000 customers today. Over 65,000 are still without power. They estimate that the remainder of the customers will be restored by Friday afternoon.

We are waiting for a report from WST at this time.

3:00 PM Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Over 80,000 customers were without power in St. Tammany this morning. Both WST and CLECO has linemen from out of the area helping with restoration. As of this morning, CLECO estimates 3 - 5 days for complete power restoration for their area. We will have an update around dinner on electric restoration progress.

9:00 PM Monday September 1, 2008

We estimate that over 45,000 households in St. Tammany Parish are without power at this time. CLECO is beginning its damage assessment now. By noon tomorrow they will have a restoration timetable. Washington St. Tammany Electric Co-op is also making an assessment at this time. WST has 300 additional linemen en-route to assist with restoration and will be working through the night.

Charter Communications reports that a major fiber line between Mandeville and Slidell was damaged, causing a loss of cable services in the western side of the parish. A full assessment will be made at daybreak. Repairs will begin at the end of the assessment. We have been assured that Charter Communication will move with as much haste as possible.

Tuesday Dusk Update

2008-09-02T18:33:00.003-05:00

Power still out but all quiet except generators. Land line telephone (POTS) working well in and out. ATT cellular working better again. MUCH less debris than Katrina. Again only one house with obvious tree/roof damage. All subdivision streets drivable. I drove down LaLane (which is where I think the power comes in for circle) and the feeder lines look ok. The power lines on 21 which is where I think the power for the front of AW comes from look worse but I did see a CLECO truck at the north end of 21 looking around at 430PM. There is a power line down across 21 south of AW and Madisonville is also dark. Beau Chene homeowners is reporting they expect power to be restored tommorrow.

I did not drive all the way to the river bridge but the flooding does not look horrible except that low lying house next to the small bayou bridge on the way into Madisionville is flooded again. Madisonville JR High is dry and undamaged but some water on streets south west of Capital One bank. Many cars were traveling north on 21 from Madisonville so I assume either the bridge is ok or they were coming from the west on 22. Purchased gas at Texaco (which I assume is on it own backup power) with no wait.

Power was restored to Ochsner Clinic in Covington late this afternoon and we are planning to open an urgent care clinic Wednesday at 10AM. Note this is not an ER and I believe both St Tammany and Lakeview ERs are open but have not called them to check. For Katrina I believe Ochsner got power just a day or two before the front of AW.

As we have no major clean up to organize, I will be posting less. If any one on the homeowner's board would like to announce anything call my home number or try my cell.

JH

drove back this AM

2008-09-02T11:06:00.001-05:00

arrrive at 900am no roadblocks coming from I59
no power, poor cell, land line ok, dsl down, water working
look prety good
jh

A couple of things

2008-09-01T20:56:00.001-05:00

See comment from togo - dsl based internet functioning in AW - I invited togo to post directly.

Cleco reports 87% of St Tammany customers without power. (www.cleco.com)

Found this on parish website:

Re-Entry Information

(08-28-2008)

St. Tammany Parish is closed through Tuesday, September 2nd. Do not return to St. Tammany Parish on September 2nd. Please give utility companies time to make damage assessments and begin repairs. Over 45,000 households are without power Monday night. Without power, water and sewer systems do not work.

An initial assessment of the parish shows power lines and trees down, but nowhere near the level of Katrina. Limited damage to private property was observed today.

The parish will reopen to all citizens as soon as conditions allow. Parish President Kevin Davis will confer with Mayors and utility companies tomorrow to make a decision regarding reopening the parish. The parish will reopen to citizens as soon as possible.

Update on Houses

2008-09-01T19:43:00.001-05:00

Togo has sent word that he drove all the streets and saw only one obviously damaged home (I just spoke with the owner and he was already aware thanks to a good neighbor). He estimates 18 trees down with some very luck falls! Power still off including power lines across 21 from entrance but not very bad there. 192 GD has a tree down in PC ditch but home ok. 188 GD ok as is 413 PC.

Togo also tells me dsl is out but phone service working. ATT wireless spotty but text messaging working (or we would not have all this info). Thanks again togo.

I have heard that T-mobile is out at least in Beau Chene and Verizon is working in Beau Chene. There is a nola.com article about Madisonville flooding which sounds bad but then they say town hall is not yet flooded so does not sound as bad a Rita/Katrina to me (I am no expert on Madisonville flooding).

No offical word from the parish that I can find about reentry but some are returning early AM.

JH

Overall Neighborhood in Great Shape!

2008-09-01T17:12:00.002-05:00

Several of you send me text messages and I forwarded a list to togo. Thanks to togo know the following houses look ok (from the street)- 305, 309, 436 (except tree on backyard fence),352,356,428, 437, 445,449, 472 on the circle. 141 and 192 GD Way, and 215 Kenn - I have forwarded him more recently 413 on the circle but have not heard back yet. At least one house has two pines on it (do not know address but near the NW corner of circle). We will likely get more information in the morning. JH

checking on houses

2008-09-01T15:14:00.001-05:00

I sent togo a list of houses to check when safe and here is his response
No problem as soon as the wind dies down

I want to thank him advance for the whole neighborhood
jh

Winds gusting again

2008-09-01T14:43:00.001-05:00

outer band may be hitting AW
latestest from togo
242pm Wind has picked way up again after a brief calm period. No rain.
I still hear a pine pop every now and then.

latest from togo

2008-09-01T14:08:00.001-05:00

The wind is gusty but dropping in speed. I just saw another pine go.
In an hr or so I will take a ride around the hood.
text me your name and address and togo may be able to send some info
on houses before dark
264 7855
jh

More updates from Togo - more trees down

2008-09-01T12:04:00.001-05:00

1119AM - Still here! Wind getting stronger from the SE. Only one tree down that I can see.

1126AM - Tree across NW corner of Pencarrow!!! Just saw it fall! Wow

1143AM- just heard another one go!!

thanks togo - JH

Power out trees bending-breaking

2008-09-01T11:00:00.001-05:00

Got these updates from togo via text messaging:

920AM-No trees down yet, that i see! The tall lanky pines are at about 40 degrees! Power on getting much windier

1013 AM- Power OUT now. Getting pretty windy

1018 AM- Looks like one pine snapped off across the street, can't see where it landed

thanks togo -

Photo from Arbor Walk 647 AM

2008-09-01T06:50:00.000-05:00

Low resolution webcam photo from circle at 647 AM. JH

Power Still On in Arbor Walk at 520 AM

2008-09-01T05:19:00.002-05:00

As of 520 AM power is still on in Arbor Walk. The storm is coming ashore and per the NHC's 400AM advisory the center should pass about 100 miles SW of Arbor Walk. We should be just outside the zone of hurricane force winds (stronger gusts possible). I hope to have more updates soon. JH

Generous Offer from Resident

2008-08-31T08:45:00.002-05:00

As you can see in some of the comments we have at least one resident who willing to attempt to convey information regarding properties after the storm. If you have a specific request and do not want to post you address or cell number you can contact me via email or via my cell phone which was on the sheet we handed out prior to the storm. You could also look on the regular homeowners site for numbers. You could also post something like "how is number 10 on the circle or how is number 10 in the phase three garden homes".

If others who are staying please do not assume anyone in front of you house is a looter and may be a neighbor trying to help!

I would like to thank togo for his generous offer to help!
JH

Mandatory Evacuation Ordered

2008-08-31T08:42:00.001-05:00

This from Parish President Davis:

Sunday, August 31, 2008 12:00am

Due to the increase in intensity of Hurricane Gustav, I have ordered a mandatory evacuation for the following areas in St. Tammany: all the areas south of Interstate 12 and east of Interstate 59. Also, if you live near a major tributary anywhere in St. Tammany Parish I have ordered a mandatory evacuation. I cannot stress enough any citizens living in FEMA trailers, mobile homes or travel trailers must evacuate for their own safety.

We have a new phone number for the State Special Needs Shelter in Hammond. The number is 866-280-7724.

Hurricane Gustav has increased so rapidly in size that it has changed all of the models which were in place the last couple of days. I want the residents of St. Tammany Parish to know that your safety is my utmost concern. I would not call for any mandatory evacuations unless I felt safety was possibly at risk. Please evacuate with your family and stay safe.

Thanks,
Kevin

Katrina memories and satellite photo

2008-08-30T12:29:00.004-05:00

It seems that many families are evacuating Arbor Walk today - several were already planning short trips this weekend. Several I have spoken with are going to Florida and others to Alabama. Most plan on returning quickly. Many others are staying.

There have been a few comments on Katrina which I have copied below. I have one satellite image from about 2 weeks after the Katrina which shows a portion of Glendurgan Way and an adjacent property. Blue tarps were visible from space and if you look closely one can see many fallen trees.

Anonymous said...: I was not living in Arbor Walk for Katrina. What was it like? Did it flood, were many homes damaged? I'm just worried about the pine trees at the back of my house. MFK; August 29, 2008 12:45 PM
Anonymous said...: I would say that about a quarter of the homes had significant tree damage. Most were large pines which broke about 20 feet from the ground and fell on roofs. Here is a good link on hurricanes and trees that I posted last year (http://treesandhurricanes.ifas.ufl.edu/powerpoint.html) In the months following several damaged trees fell and caused additional damage. Many trees have been removed since the storm. There was no flooding into homes thatI know of but the Katrina surge up the river did extend to about a 1/2 east of the neighborhood (where there are wetlands). JH; August 29, 2008 1:18 PM
Czerny said...: The winds went in one direction for most of Katrina, but towards the end shifted in a different direction. We were fortunate in that although we lost a dozen trees, they all fell parallel to the house. By the time the wind direction shifted, the larger trees were already down. Others on the bend were impacted with considerable damage.; August 30, 2008 10:15 AM

Mission Statement

2008-08-28T12:55:00.000-05:00

The mission of this blog is to provide a method communication during the storm season for the homeowners of Arbor Walk. During Katrina there was very poor communication regarding the status of the neighborhood or individual properties. I hope that we can use this blog to provide updates for both those who stay or evacuate. We can also share information and perhaps plan projects such as cleanup or security.