St. Bernard Parish President Peralta declares State of Emergency ahead of Tropical Storm Isaac; Sheriff Pohlmann also monitoring storm and S.O. staff met Sunday and will do so again on Monday morning

St. Bernard Sheriff James Pohlmann intensely watches a storm track of Tropical Storm Isaac at a Sheriff’s Office staff meeting Sunday in which the sheriff and staff took part in a conference call with the National Weather Service.

A computerized view of various models of the track of Tropical Storm Isaac, expected to become a hurricane, that was shown to Sheriff’s Office staffers.

St. Bernard Parish President David E. Peralta issued an Executive Order declaring a State of Emergency as a result of the forecasted conditions of Tropical Storm Isaac.

Sheriff James Pohlmann also is monitoring the storm and the Sheriff’s Office command staff Sunday afternoon and will do so again Monday morning at 10 a,m,, the sheriff said.

President Peralta stated the parish officials are in constant communications with the National Weather Service and surrounding key agencies to monitor the current weather situation. Pohlmann said the Sheriff’s Office is taking part in meetings with the parish government Office of Emergency Preparedness and participated in a telephone conference with the National Weather Service, along with parish officials on Sunday afternoon.

No mandatory evacuation has been called in St. Bernard as of Sunday night. Isaac is expected to become a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico and the National Weather Service was forecasting Sunday the storm making landfall on the Mississippi Gulf Coast late Tuesday night or Wednesday morning but the possible track is still fluid.

Heavy rains are likely.

Residents who intend to leave should do so before traffic jams become a concern.

Peralta and Pohlmann urged St. Bernard residents to continue monitoring the weather and media updates. “Although the integrity of our levee system is better than it has ever been, we want citizens to implement their individual emergency preparation plans,” Peralta said.

Currently, St. Bernard Parish is operating at full drainage and pumping capacity. President Peralta said “Drainage canals have been pumped down to add additional storage capacity.” Public Works’ crews are implementing all emergency preparation plans and pre-staging additional pumps for problem areas, he said.

The St. Bernard Parish Emergency Operations Center will be in full operation as of 8:00 a.m. Monday morning, Aug. 27, 2012 and shall remain open until the termination of the State of Emergency.

Pohlmann and Pohlmann encouraged people to secure items on their their property as soon as possible and anyone owning boats in the eastern part of the parish outside the hurricane protection levee system should secure them no later than Monday afternoon. Marine traffic should seek safe harbor.

Also, pick up any debris that may cause obstructions to the drainage catch basins in their neighborhoods.

Residents can call Emergency Operations Center at 504-278-4268 or stay tuned to local media for updates as well as frequently checking the Sheriff’s Office web ste at www.sbso.org or parish government’s website at www.sbpg.net.