As Tropical Storm Nicholas bears down on Southeast Texas for Southwest Louisiana the biggest threat is heavy rainfall. Dave Brannen has more.
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A lawsuit filed on behalf of one of the more than 800 nursing home residents that were evacuated to a warehouse in Tangipahoa Parish during hurricane Ida also names the Louisiana Department of Health as defendants. Brooke Thorington explains.
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Southwest Louisiana is under a Flash Flood Watch as Tropical Storm Nicholas heads up the southeast Texas coast. Donovan Landreneau with the National Weather Service says the amount of rain the Bayou State could see could climb as high as 20 inches. And, the storm surge could be an additional problem dished out by Nicholas.
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Landreneau says rain bands will likely tell the story of how much rain areas of the state will receive from Nicholas.
Landreneau says it’s too early to say which areas of the state will be subjected to the heaviest rainfall as the official forecast track shows Nicholas twisting to the northeast as it exits Texas moving into central Louisiana.
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In Tangipahoa Parish, a Loranger man is charged with aggravated assault of a utility worker after branding a gun and threatening a lineman. TPSO Chief Jimmy Travis says it happened Friday evening on Highway 445 after 35-year-old Kendrick James refused to yield to a utility crew restoring power.
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The charge carries a penalty of a fine of not less than $2,000 and/or imprisoned for not less than one year nor more than three years.
Travis says this is not the first incident involving harassment of utility workers they’ve encountered. He says one man even threatened the power company on the phone.
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While Travis admits it’s frustrating waiting to get power restored but harassing a utility worker is not the answer, he says it’s a complicated and lengthy process to restore power safely and he urges residents to be patient due to the outages.
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Baton Rouge attorney Ron Haley has filed a lawsuit on behalf of one of the more than 800 nursing home residents that were evacuated to a warehouse in Tangipahoa Parish during hurricane Ida. The suit names nursing homeowner Bob Dean and the Louisiana Department of Health as defendants. Haley says nursing homes in southern parts of the state are required to file an evacuation plan with the state.
Haley’s client is Darlene Franklin, who is currently in a nursing home in New Roads, was not only a resident in a Bob Dean facility but also a former employee.
Inspectors with the health department visited the warehouse after they received reports of deteriorating conditions but were thrown off the property then returned the next day to relocate the more than 800 residents to properly equipped facilities across the state.
Seven residents have since died from the original evacuation to the warehouse.
Haley says Franklin told him not only were evacuees crowed into the warehouse and left on mattresses on the floor but they also weren’t given food or medication for two days.
This is the second lawsuit filed against Dean, the first was a class action suit filed out of New Orleans. The state has since revoked the licenses of seven nursing homes owned by Dean that were evacuated to the warehouse.
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The Saints started the 2021 season with an impressive 38-3 victory over the Green Bay Packers in a game held in Jacksonville, Florida, because of the devastation in southeast Louisiana from Hurricane Ida. Quarterback Jameis Winston threw five touchdown passes and dedicates the victory to New Orleans
Linebacker Demario Davis hopes their statement win over one of the top teams in the NFC revives hope for those suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida…
Running back Alvin Kamara rushed for 83 yards and had a touchdown. He says they knew Green Bay would not feel sorry for them because they’ve been displaced by Ida…