Water drains from bayou communities; schools open as normal

John Mobley navigates through floodwaters left behind by Tropcal Storm Lee Monday afternoon in Golden Meadow.

Swollen waterways continued to subside today, one day after the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee swept northward out of the Houma-Thibodaux area.

Floodgates were opened Monday across Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes as winds began shifting to the north and pushing water out of bayou communities.

All schools in both parishes reopened today.

Lee weakened overnight and deteriorated as it moved over Mississippi and Alabama Monday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Heavy rain from the storm rolled northeast into Appalachian states today, spreading the threat of flooding as r as New England after drenching the South, spawning tornadoes, sweeping several people away and knocking out power to thousands.

At least one death was attributed to the storm. In Mississippi, 57-year-old John Howard Anderson Jr., had been in a car with two other people trying to cross a rain-swollen creek Sunday night. Tishomingo County Coroner Mack Wilemon said Anderson was outside of the car and couldnt hold onto a rope thrown by a would-be rescuer.

Terrebonne Parish President Michel Claudet said this morning that public-works employees and the Levee District are working to get water out of the lower parts of the parish, where flooding was almost entirely limited to roads and yards. Floodgates are open in Montegut, Pointe-aux-Chenes, Dularge, Little Caillou and Grand Caillou, Claudet said, and the water is receding.

&8220;This was not a high wind event; it was a major water event,nike air max shoes. &8221; Claudet said. &8220;It just beat us and beat us.&8221;

Lafourche Parish Spokesman Brennan Matherne said all roads were opened about noon Sunday. The only closure due to water in Lafourche was the U.S. 90 off ramp on La. 182,Nike soccer shoes a major entry to Houma, Matherne said. In Terrebonne, almost every major roadway is open, though some roads in the parishs southernmost communities remained closed this morning.

Only three people in southern Terrebonne and six people in Bayou Blue, Des Allemands, Lockport and Larose reported homes flooding from the storm, officials said.

Claudet said that doesnt mean other homes or businesses didnt take on water; some may have just gone unreported.

&8220;No one wanted it to happen, but we certainly came out as well as can be,&8221; Claudet said.

Matherne said any lingering water in yards or roads should be removed within a few days.

&8220;Were pumping it out as quickly as we can,nike outlet store. &8221; Matherne said today. &8220;Hopefully we can have a few days without rain to catch up.&8221;

Shawn ONeil, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Slidell, said winds and pleasant weather will be all that remain of Lee through the end of the week locally. All weather warnings were lifted Monday .

Tocommunities in schoolsdays high in Houma-Thibodaux will be just 80 degrees, pleasant for September in south Louisiana, ONeil said. Winds will drop to about 10 mph today. Highs will remain in the lower 80s through weeks end. There will be no more rain this week.

Four-day rain totals ranged from about 9 inches in Houma to 11 inches in Galliano, according to the National Weather Service. The Houma-Thibodaux area has seen anywhere from 8-12 inches of rain since Thursday.

Winds began blowing out of the northwest late Sunday and quickly drained high waters out of bayou communities, ONeil said.

&8220;When the winds shifted Nike mercurial vapor superfly, things improved immediately,&8221; said south Lafourche Levee Director Windell Curole.

Curole said Levee District officials opened the lock in Golden Meadow Monday afternoon and began draining high waters in Bayou Lafourche.

But the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was still 3 feet above normal late Monday, Curole said, so the Larose floodgate remained closed through this morning.

The Intracoastal reached a high of about 4 feet at Larose Sunday night, up from its usual height of 1.5 feet. Water levels remained just below 4 feet Monday afternoon.

It will take longer to drain interior water bodies that have been backed up for days, Curole said. But he hoped conditions would improve by days end.

&8220;Because were going to have the north wind, I expect things will drain out really st,&8221; Curole said Monday evening.

All Terrebonne floodgates were opened Monday morning except for the upper Little Caillou floodgate, which still had water levels about 3.7 feet, said Angela Rains, Terrebonne Levee District Manager. A normal tide is about 1.5 feet. Rains said water levels were dropping across the parish.

According to U.S. Geological Survey gauges, water levels at Bayou Terrebonne dropped from a height of almost 6 feet early Saturday to 1.4 feet by Monday afternoon.

Water levels in the Houma Navigation Canal at Dulac dropped below 3 feet from a height of above 4 feet Sunday afternoon.

Claudet said Terrebonnes Emergency Operations Center closed Monday night, and a voluntary evacuation order for the lower parts of the parish had been lifted that morning.

The evacuation shelter at the East Houma Gym that had housed about a dozen people overnight was closed Monday morning. The Larose Civic Center, which housed a few people during the strorm, also closed Monday.

Claudet thanked parish employees who he said worked through the night Sunday to replace a iled pump at the Bonanza station in Houma and build a temporary levee around the Woodlawn pump station to protect it from floodwaters. He said the parish is working with the Levee District to drain areas with persistent standing water, like Dularge. Crews were clearing roads and debris Monday and today.

Terrebonne residents are encouraged to contact the parishs Emergency Operations Center at 873-6357 to report damage or flooding to homes or businesses. All other inquiries on public services should be directed to 868-5050.

This story includes information from The Associated Press.

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