City of New Orleans to Activate Citywide Freeze Plan
The City of New Orleans today announced that it will activate a citywide freeze plan in anticipation of the extreme winter weather expected to bring dangerously low temperatures below freezing starting Monday evening, Jan. 15.
The National Weather Service (NWS) predicts that there will be several days of freezing temperatures next week, with hard freezes possible on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Temperatures, at its lowest, could be in the 20s and 30s, with several hours below freezing possible. There is no frozen precipitation forecast for the area at this time.
Residents should be prepared to take action to protect the “Four Ps” – people, pets, pipes and plants. Individual preparations should be completed before Monday evening. For specific tips on how to protect people, pets, pipes and plants, visit ready.nola.gov.
The New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD) reminds residents to practice fire safety when using portable heaters. New Orleans Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will closely monitor road conditions and continue to respond to emergency calls.
UTILITY DISCONNECTIONS SUSPENDED
Entergy New Orleans (ENO) is prepared to respond as needed throughout the winter season and encourages customers to stay warm safely with these tips. ENO will temporarily suspend service disconnections from Jan. 16-18. Residents can call 1-800-ENTERGY to report outages.
The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) will also suspend shut-offs from Monday, Jan. 15 through Wednesday, Jan. 17. The agency will also monitor freezing conditions and continue to respond to emergencies during the impending winter weather event. Residents are reminded to run the faucet located furthest away from the water meter in a thin trickle to minimize the chance of pipes freezing. Residents should not run more than one faucet and should not run any faucet at full blast. It is unnecessary and can be expensive for customers. It can also contribute to lower water pressures across the city, risking the potential for a precautionary boil water advisory. Visit www.swbno.org for more tips on how to protect pipes and property before, during and after a hard freeze. Customers can call 504-52-WATER to report water or sewer issues.
RESOURCES FOR UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS
New Orleans Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (NOHSEP) is coordinating with New Orleans Recreation Development (NORD) Commission to activate an “overnight warming center,” equipped with an emergency generator from Monday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. until Thursday, Jan. 18 at 9 a.m. for unhoused residents at the Rosenwald Recreation Center Annex Building (1140 S. Broad Ave.).
The Office of Homeless Services and Strategy (OHSS) will monitor homeless shelters’ capacity and the center’s nightly capacity, in collaboration with the New Orleans Health Department (NOHD), New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Homeless Unit, UNITY of Greater New Orleans, Travelers Aid and the New Orleans Mission outreach teams to encourage unhoused individuals to utilize the “overnight warming center.”
Individuals in need of transportation to the overnight warming center should call 3-1-1.
For non-emergency law enforcement calls, please call (504) 821-2222.
For more information and safety tips, visit ready.nola.gov. To receive up-to-date alerts, text “NOLAREADY” (one word) to 77295.
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