State Officials got together today to discuss Louisiana’s response plan should another storm hit us while portions of the Gulf Coast region are still recovering from prior events. Mike Steele with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says we are still in the heart of hurricane season, and resources in Louisiana could be strained:
CUT 6 (09) “Houston and in Texas”
He says as part of the exercise, state agencies and emergency managers were asked to take actions based on the fact that we won’t have Texas support.

Hurricane Irma, which became a Category 5 storm today, is packing maximum sustained winds of 180 miles per hour. The National Hurricane Center says that makes it the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic basin outside of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The chance of impacts to Florida this weekend are increasing, but forecasters warn there are still many things about the track of Irma that could change.

Lafayette Sheriff Mark Garber’s 7-year-old daughter and her babysitter have been found safe after the two went missing during a canoe trip yesterday. John Mowell with the sheriff’s office high water likely pushed the girls into a wooded area, but thankfully 21-year-old Juliana Brooks is a skilled kayaker with survival skills…:
Cut 5 (11) “good judgement”
He says the two were found a little dehydrated, but both will be fine.

Evacuees staying in Louisiana shelters are on their way back to Texas, as the two states partner to transport the survivors to a shelter in Dallas. Transportation of the survivors from Alexandria and Shreveport to Texas began this morning and will continue through Thursday, until everyone is back in their home state, according to a statement from DCFS. The state said there were over 2,000 evacuees in state-run shelters as of midnight Tuesday.