New Orleans City Hall to Reopen at Noon on Wednesday, January 17
The City of New Orleans today announced that City Hall and other City buildings will be reopened to the public at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 17. City Hall will resume normal operations on Thursday, Jan. 18, unless otherwise indicated. Trash collection is scheduled to continue normal operations.
The National Weather Service (NWS) predicts that there will be several days of freezing temperatures this week, with a hard freeze possible overnight and on Wednesday. At its lowest, temperatures could drop into 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. 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 continue to temporarily suspend service disconnections until Thursday, Jan.18. Residents can call 1-800-ENTERGY to report outages.
The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) will continue to suspend shut-offs until 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 (1120 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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