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Electrical linemen at W. Green Avenue and Simmons Drive in Orange work to restore power to local residents. On Friday, the work of recovering from Hurricane Laura continued for many folks, some of whom had evacuated to avoid the storm. Photo made on August 28, 2020. Fran Ruchalski/The Enterprise lessElectrical linemen at W. Green Avenue and Simmons Drive in Orange work to restore power to local residents. On Friday, the work of recovering from Hurricane Laura continued for many folks, some of whom had ... morePhoto: Fran Ruchalski, The Enterprise / The Enterprise
Port Arthur officials are expected to lift a mandatory evacuation order Monday morning at 6 a.m., with power expected to return to most of the impacted areas sometime Sunday night.
The order was extended over the weekend as sweltering temperatures, paired with widespread power outages caused the National Weather Service to issue a Heat Advisory under an amended criteria.
“Due to the increased heat stress from power outages and outdoor relief activities related to Hurricane Laura, we have temporarily lowered our Heat Advisory criteria to heat indices above 100F instead of 108F,” NWS Lake Charles warning coordination meteorologist Roger Erickson said. “Counties and parishes with greater than 10% of customers with power outages are included in this temporary area of lowered criteria.”
Many residents have already returned, but Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie asked residents to wait one more day if possible.
“If you wait one more day, you will be returning to much better conditions than if you come back tonight,” Bartie told The Enterprise.
Port Arthur and Beaumont officials urged residents to stay indoors, and limit physical exertion during the hottest part of the day, but did not open cooling centers or distribute water as of this weekend.
“Get yourself a glass of cold water,” Bartie said.
Academy Sports provided free cases of water at their Beaumont and Port Arthur stores over the weekend to aid with recovery efforts.
While a Sunday heat advisory is expected to expire at 7 p.m., Erickson said current conditions will likely cause more advisories to be issued in the coming days.
Barry Goldsmith, Warning Coordinator Meteorologist for the Brownsville/Rio Grande National Weather Service station said heat can be a dangerous addition to the recovery phase after a hurricane like Laura blows through a region.
“The heat exhaustion potential goes up dramatically when people are out dealing with … heat that they are not used to dealing with, when you are going from place to place in the recovery phase of a hurricane,” Goldsmith told The Enterprise. “Heat stroke is one of the more common indirect fatalities, unfortunately, after a storm.”
In Beaumont, Police Department spokeswoman Carol Riley said the heat is just one of several hazards the City is warning residents about as they go about assessing and repairing damage from Hurricane Laura.
“We are trying to warn people about some of the normal hazards they face while they are trying to remove debris,” Riley said. “Our big big concern right now is people running their generators to keep their homes cool, and refilling their generators while they're still hot … and while they're running. Those have led to some fires in Southeast Texas.”
Riley also said residents can do any work needed in the morning or evening, or when light rain is falling to help cool down.
Several Southeast Texas residents have also died in recent days as a result of improperly placed generators releasing carbon monoxide into their homes.
As a result, city officials are continuing to underscore the need for generators to be operated outside, and 20 feet away from any open windows or doors to avoid exposure to the poisonous gas.
isaac.windes@hearstnp.com
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August 31, 2020 at 02:50AM
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NWS: heat added danger during hurricane recovery - Beaumont Enterprise
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