Almost a week after 80-mph winds passed through St. Martin Parish, officials in St. Martinville, Cade and other towns in the parish are trying to quickly recover from Hurricane Gustav’s wrath.

“Overall, we fared pretty well with the exceptions of portions of Cade and Catahoula,” said St. Martin Parish President Guy Cormier. “Right now we’re just trying to get power restored.”

As of Friday, Cormier said 95 percent of St. Martinville’s power was restored. In Cade, Entergy had 35 percent of power restored Friday morning.

Advertisement

Lower parts of the parish were hit harder, Cormier said, with one community that might not have any power restored for up to four weeks.

“Hopefully by (Saturday) we’ll have 65 or 70 percent of power restored in Cade,” he said.

“Out main goal is to get them all up and running as soon as possible.”

There was one storm-related fatality reported. A St. Martinville resident died in a house fire that investigators think was due to a candle, Cormier said. No other injuries or fatalities were reported.

St. Martin Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Maj. Ginny Higgens said the parish helped 11 people evacuate on buses and 30 residents with special medical needs before the storm.

Elderly residents or residents with special needs should call a neighbor or family member to make sure power is restored to their homes before returning, Cormier said.

“There’s no way to get a number of how many people from the general population left, but it seems that a lot of people stayed here,” she said.

Minor flooding throughout the parish took place Tuesday when flash floods hit the area hard after Gustav passed, Higgens said.

For residents who are lacking resources upon return, Higgens said Magnolia Park in St. Martinville is a distribution site for water, ice and Meals Ready to Eat (MREs).

St. Martin Parish schools will resume Monday, she said.

Damage throughout the parish was less than expected, Higgens said, adding shingle and roof damage was mostly minor.

“There were a few trees that fell on buildings,” she said. “But for the most part it was a lot better than we thought it would be.”

There is widespread storm debris that the parish will be picking up for approximately 90 days, Cormier said. Residents should sort the debris and place it neatly on the side of the road.

Household trash service and postal service has resumed to normal operating hours, Higgens said.

The SMILE community action agency for St. Martin Parish will reopen Monday, according to the voice message on its phone line.