Disabled, elderly Iberia residents return uncertain

A decision on when elderly and disabled residents evacuated before Hurricane Gustav will be returned to Iberia Parish is expected later today.

Following a 5 p.m. Wednesday conference call with other parish officials and representatives of Louisiana’s Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, Parish President Ernest Freyou reiterated the point that it would not be safe to return elderly and disabled evacuees to the parish until power was fully restored.

“Given that power has only been restored to about 20 percent of the parish, we would be bringing those people into a worse situation than where they are now,” Freyou said.

Iberia Parish residents who evacuated for Hurricane Gustav under their own power were given the all clear to return Wednesday.

A parishwide curfew, which had been from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., has been changed to 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

People who violate this curfew will be subject to arrest by the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Parish Public Works Director Kevin Hagerich said a Federal Emergency Management Agency team was expected to complete a debris assessment for the parish sometime today.