NEWSROOM
When
the Next Storm Surge Hits St. Mary Parish
August 14, 2006
FRANKLIN –
How hurricane storm surge could affect St. Mary Parish will be
the focus of an exhibit and public talks by experts from the Louisiana
State University Agriculture Center, Louisiana Sea Grant and the
LSU Hurricane Center on Aug. 22 and Aug. 29.
The Aug. 22 meeting
and exhibit will be at the Alex P. Allain Branch of the St. Mary
Parish Library, 206 Iberia Street, Franklin. The Aug. 29 meeting
will be at the Bayou Vista Community Center, located on Bellview
Drive, Bayou Vista. Both meetings, which are free and open to
the public, will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The exhibits will be
on display for the remainder of hurricane season in the Allain
and the Bayou Vista branches of the library.
The meetings will discuss
hurricane vulnerability, flood zones, storm surge models and how
the surge from Hurricane Rita washed over the parish. The exhibit
will include aerial photography and storm surge models.
Using satellite images
and geographical information systems (GIS), Louisiana Sea Grant
Marine Extension agent Thomas Hymel, who will be one of the presenters
at both meetings, developed Hurricane Rita storm surge maps for
St. Mary, Iberia and Vermilion parishes. Originally created to
help the agriculture industry assess damages and lobby for state
and federal assistance, the maps caught the interest of the insurance
industry, homeowners and schoolchildren. “It’s been
an amazing response,” said Hymel. “Now we want to
share this information with as many people as possible.”
Hymel also decided
early-on to use the data as an educational tool to show residents
how much damage could have occurred if the storm surge was greater
and what could happen in future storms.
“We recognized
the importance of creating the maps to help in making decisions
about crops, housing and rebuilding,” Hymel said.
Since its
establishment in 1968, Louisiana Sea Grant has worked to promote
stewardship of the state’s coastal resources through a combination
of research, education and outreach programs critical to the cultural,
economic and environmental health of Louisiana’s coastal
zone. Louisiana Sea Grant, based at Louisiana State University,
is part of the National Sea Grant Program, a network of 32 programs
in each of the U.S. coastal and Great Lakes states and Puerto
Rico.
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