The Latest on Hurricane Isaac – What’s Happening Tonight and Tomorrow Where You Are

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL) — Lafayette City-Parish President Joey Durel says wind is his biggest concern as Hurricane Isaac approaches the Louisiana coast.

According to Durel, the National Weather Service says winds should hit sustained speeds of 39 miles per hour at about 10 p.m. Tuesday. Winds should peak Wednesday afternoon with sustained winds of 50 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 60 miles per hour. Sustained winds of up to 39 miles per hour should prevail until Thursday, Durel says.

“It’s really not the strength of the winds that’s anything to really be concerned as much as it is the length of the time we have these winds,” Durel says.

Durel does not expect Isaac to be a big rain event. The National Weather Service says to expect one to four inches of rain, with isolated cells that could possibly dump eight inches of rain.

“I tell people all the time, you’re house is not likely to get blown over or anything like that,” Durel says.

Durel also addressed rumors that Lafayette Parish will be under a curfew starting tonight. He says nothing official has been signed, but he asks that residents stay home if they don’t absolutely need to be out on the roads after 6 p.m.

Durel also declared a state of emergency in Lafayette Parish earlier Tuesday, but he says it’s not as scary as the title makes it out to be.

“That is strictly a legal document that we have to do ahead of a storm to ensure we get reimbursed by FEMA,” Durel says.

Because the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Lafayette Parish Schools announced yesterday they would close Wednesday, Durel says the emergency declaration was signed to recoup some of the expenses of those closures, as well as other expenses that may be incurred because of the storm.

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