New Orleans City Hall Closed to Public in Anticipation of Inclement Winter Weather
NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans today announced that in anticipation of inclement winter weather impacting New Orleans and surrounding areas, City Hall and other City buildings will be closed to the public on Tuesday, Jan. 16. City services will remain open virtually. At this time, City Hall will resume normal operations on Wednesday, Jan. 17, unless otherwise indicated.
Other than precautions taken for safety of personnel during the height of severe weather, essential City services, such as public safety and infrastructure, are not affected by this closure. The City Sanitation Department and its contractors are monitoring weather conditions, and as of now, trash pick-up will occur as scheduled on Tuesday, Jan. 16. If this changes, the City will notify residents as soon as possible.
The National Weather Service (NWS) predicts that there will be several days of freezing temperatures this week, with hard freezes possible overnight Tuesday and Wednesday. At its lowest, temperatures could be in the 20s and 30s, with several hours below freezing possible.
Residents should be prepared to take action to protect the “Four P’s” – people, pets, pipes and plants. Individual preparations should be completed Monday evening. For specific tips on how to protect people, pets, pipes and plants, visit https://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.
The New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (NOHSEP) has activated the Emergency Operations Center and will monitor conditions throughout the weather event.
Residents are encouraged to sign up for emergency text alerts from the City by texting “NOLAREADY” (one word) to 77295. Residents can also follow @NOLAReady on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram or sign up for email and text message alerts at ready.nola.gov/stay-connected/emergency-alerts/.
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
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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