NEW ORLEANS - The City of New Orleans is closely monitoring and preparing residents for Tropical Storm Barry, which has the potential to impact parts of southeastern Louisiana.

"Mayor Latoya Cantrell is doing a fantastic job of keeping Councilmembers and residents up to date on storm preparations. In addition, I want to provide important information to District 'C' residents over the next few days, before and during Tropical Storm Barry. It's important that residents know that we are here to answer their questions and be a resource to ensure they, along with their families, are safe," said Councilmember Palmer.

Councilmember Palmer is stressing the importance of staying informed with updates on Tropical Storm Barry through NOLA Ready. Sign up for NOLA Ready Emergency Alerts by texting your zip code to 888777 or go to ready.nola.gov/alerts. Residents are also reminded to never drive through flooded areas and to call 9-1-1 to report major flooding on the road. A map of reported street flooding in real-time is available at www.streetwise.nola.gov .

The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) ferry and streetcar services are being replaced with bus service. Additional public transportation services will be suspended if roads are impassable and will resume once they are safe. RTA will provide service alerts to the public, via their website, www.norta.com, the GoMobile app, social media, and Ride Line at 504-248-3900.

Your evacuation plan should include your family's special needs, especially if you have young children, pets, or family members with medical, mobility or intellectual needs. Call 3-1-1 to sign up for the Special Needs Registry or go to www.specialneeds.nola.gov if you have medical, mobility, or mental health needs that might require extra help in an emergency.

There have been significant concerns about the river level and storm surge and the possibility of overtopping of the levees in Algiers. Councilmember Palmer will continue to receive daily updates from both the Army Corps of Engineers and Levee Protection Authority. The Regional Director of Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority West, John Monzon, released the following information to the District "C" office via email today:

"Tropical Storm Barry will probably make landfall Friday Evening. We will have all of our floodgates on the River and the Hurricane Protection System closed by close of business today. The floodgate at LA-45 (Barataria Blvd.) will remain open during this event. We expect to close the gates at Bayou Segnette and Harvey Canal no later than Friday. The gates at the West Closure Complex will be closed only if we hit the trigger of +4 feet and rising. The Mississippi River is expected to have a 3-4 ft. uptick in elevation, however, all of the levees in our system have at least 6 feet of freeboard."

Councilmember Palmer will have a conference call to brief residents on Tropical Storm Barry on Friday, June 12th at 3pm: 

Call in number: (605) 475-4820

Access Code: 440535

For the latest information from Councilmember Palmer, follow her on social media:

-          @kristin.gislesonpalmer

-          @kgislesonpalmer

-          @noladistrictC

-          Sign up for District "C" email alerts, here.

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Media Contact:

Tiffaney Bradley

Communications Director

Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer, District "C"

Tiffaney.bradley@nola.gov

(504) 658-1034