PRESS RELEASE

Office Of Coastal Protection And Restoration
Plaquemines Parish Officials Reporting Levee Breech Near Towns Of Braithewaite, Scarsdale, White Ditch And Caernarvon
Baton Rouge (September 12, 2008) - State and Plaquemines Parish Levee officials are reporting a levee breech of a parish levee on the east bank of Plaquemines Parish near the towns of Caernarvon, Scarsdale, White Ditch and Braithewaite.

The breech has been reported to be approximately six feet wide. The levee is not a federal levee.

Contractors hired by Plaquemines Parish to re-enforce levees in the area are working to close the breech using sand bags and heavy equipment.

Weather conditions will not permit the use of helicopters to drop large sand baskets into the breech.

There have been no reports of home flooding as of 11:45 a.m. Friday, Sept, 12.

More information will be released as it is obtained.

For the latest information on Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, you can visit emergency.louisiana.gov or call the state's emergency hotline at 1-866-288-2484 to listen to a recorded message with the most up-to-date information.

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