PRESS RELEASE

Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration News Update
Office Of Coastal Protection And Restoration Monitoring Storm Surge Flooding Throughout Coastal Louisiana
BATON ROUGE (September 11, 2008) - The Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration (OCPR) is coordinating efforts to send essential flood fighting resources to the central and western Louisiana coastal areas in advance of the landfall of Hurricane Ike.

OCPR officials have been imbedded with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local levee districts across southeast and central Louisiana to monitor storm surge and levee conditions as tropical storm and hurricane conditions spread across the Louisiana coast.

The OCPR is preparing to conduct both aerial and ground level assessments once weather permits in the wake of Ike.

The National Weather Service has advised Louisiana officials to expect storm surges to approach 15-17 feet at Sabine Pass at the Texas-Louisiana state line in Cameron Parish.

Storm surges could approach nine feet or more in Western Terrebonne Parish and increase in height thro! ugh St. Mary, Iberia, Vermillion and Cameron parishes.

Parts of eastern coastal Louisiana including lower Plaquemines, Lafourche and Jefferson parishes were experiencing tropical storm force winds as of 2 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 11.

Ike is expected to make landfall on the central to upper Texas coast as a strong Category 2 or Category 3 hurricane either late Friday or early Saturday.

Information regarding coastal flooding due to Ike will be made available as it is obtained.

For the latest information on hurricanes Gustav and Ike, visit emergency.louisiana.gov.

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