Yesterday’s storms brought 3.86 inches of rain in an hour to Slidell and in some areas of the city, there was as much as 4.8 inches. This morning, the National Weather Service predicted a 90% chance of rain for today that could bring an additional 2 to 4 inches to Slidell.
“Yesterday, we had a lot of rain come through Slidell and some homes came close to flooding,” said Slidell Mayor Freddy Drennan. “The ground is saturated and our drainage systems are still inundated from that rain. The NWS is predicting 2 to 4 more inches for today. We are looking at a possible total of 6 to 8 inches of rain in a 24 to 36 hour period. Our systems cannot handle that amount of rain. ”
People in areas prone to flooding should take precautions to protect their property. The City will open two sand bag locations today from 12 noon to 8 p.m. near the Tennis Courts located at Cleveland Avenue off Sgt. Alfred Drive and in the parking area at the corner of Rue Rochelle and Independence Drive. There is a limit of 15 sandbags per household.
“City crews are working hard to clean catch basins. All pumps have been cleaned and they will be manned during the storm,” said Drennan. “I urge citizens to stay of the road if possible and don’t drive through flooded streets. Your vehicle could stall and you could push water into people’s homes.”
The National Weather Service predicts a 40% chance of rain over the weekend.
For the latest city news updates and information, please visit the city’s website at www.slidell.la.us and follow the official “City of Slidell” pages on Facebook and Twitter. For emergency news, subscribe to our Slidell SOS Twitter page.
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Hurricane and Emergency Information Sheet
Slidell news and emergency information: www.slidell.la.us
Slidell Emergency News on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SlidellSOS
City of Slidell’s Facebook page: www.tinyurl.com/slidellfb
St. Tammany Office of Emergency Preparedness: www.stpgov.org.eoc
Evacuation routes and maps: www.dotd.state.la.us/maps
National Hurricane Center: www.nhc.noaa.gov
National Weather Service: www.weather.gov
National Weather Service: www.weather.gov
