Tagged: Hurricane Isaac

A 175-year-old lighthouse that stood at Pass Manchac was knocked over by Hurricane Isaac's strong surge.

WWL-TV reports that the landmark in Tangipahoa Parish now lies crumbled in the water. The Pass Manchac Lighthouse was erected at a pass connecting lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain.

Al Dranguet, a professor of history at Southeastern Louisiana University, said the lighthouse was a beacon of safety for many generations.

In the wake of major flooding during Hurricane Isaac, the St. John the Baptist Parish president is asking the Army Corps of Engineers to speed up plans for levees.

The Times-Picayune reports that Natalie Robottom has asked the corps to fast-track a decision on an alignment for a hurricane levee to protect the east banks of St. John and St. James parishes.

She recently went to Washington to make the parish's case.

Mayor Mayson Foster says he has submitted a proposal for review by the city's fire and police unions, City Council members and department heads that could lead to revamping procedures for giving city employees time off at times of natural disasters.

The Advocate reports Councilman Lemar Marshall asked at the council's meeting earlier this week why city employees were required to come to work during the approach and landfall of Hurricane Isaac, which struck on the night of Aug. 28.

Hurricane Isaac has caused a delay in New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu's annual presentation of a proposed city budget.

The mayor's office said Thursday that Landrieu has signed an executive order allowing for a budget presentation two weeks later than the administration has done in the previous two years.

Residents in East Feliciana and West Feliciana parishes who were affected by Hurricane Isaac have seven days, beginning Thursday, to apply for disaster food benefits.

State officials say they're opening sites at the East Feliciana Early Learning Center in Clinton and the Independence Community Center in St. Francisville, each day, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Officials say repairs to the Mandeville fishing pier, which was damaged by Hurricane Isaac, will take about three months to complete and could cost around $200,000.

Public Works Director David deGeneres tells The Times-Picayune the popular 400-foot pier at Sunset Point on the city's lakefront will remain closed until the repairs are complete.

City officials are hoping that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will help pay for the repairs. If federal money is made available, officials say the city would have to pay only 25 percent of the repair costs.