During preparations for the arrival of Tropical Storm Cristobal, the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) Operations staff reported this afternoon, Friday, May 5, that an Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) generator was in need of repair. The work is complicated enough that it cannot be completed before the arrival of the storm and therefore has been designated out of service.

Today, the City of New Orleans updated residents ahead of potential Tropical Storm Cristobal this coming weekend. Governor Edwards recently issued an Emergency Declaration for the state, preparing for potential bad weather. Read more from the declaration.

The Flood Protection Authority (FPA) has been closing floodgates since Thursday due to the surge and wind predictions for Tropical Storm Cristobal, and will continue closing gates through late Saturday night. Our key facilities, including the lakefront Permanent Pump Stations, will be manned for the duration of this storm. We will close all large navigable structures, including the Surge Barrier in New Orleans East, by Saturday evening.

The City of New Orleans continues to monitor Cristobal, which has been downgraded to a tropical depression. It is forecast to remain near or over the Yucatan well into Friday and is forecast to regain tropical storm intensity as it moves northward through the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. On the forecast track, the likelihood of direct impacts to Southeast Louisiana continues to increase.

The New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is monitoring Tropical Depression Three, which is forecast to remain in the the Bay of Campeche through this week and then drift northward into the Central Gulf of Mexico this weekend. It is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm later today, likely named Cristobal.