May 192011
 

(c) Patrick Semansky, The Associated Press, LSP inmates arrive at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel on May 9, 2011.

(c) Patrick Semansky, The Associated Press, LSP inmates arrive at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel on May 9, 2011.

Vincent Simmons, 85188, is temporarily housed at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center  because the Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) has been evacuated partially since May 9, 2011, due to the (potential) flooding along the Mississippi River. To locate a LSP inmate by phone, please call 225-383-4580.  

According to projections by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the river will crest at 64.5 feet (19,66 m) on Sunday, May 22, 2011 at

(c) Patrick Semansky, The Associated Press, A camp at the LSP alongside an inner levee on May 9, 2011

(c) Patrick Semansky, The Associated Press, A camp at the LSP alongside an inner levee on May 9, 2011

the Louisiana State Prison (Angola). Twelve miles of levees ranging from 68 feet (20,73 m) to 72 feet (21,95 m) high surround the 18,000 acres prison ground (comparable in size with Manhattan) of seven formerly consolidated plantations. There are patrols around the clock at Angola. Some inmates remain there to provide support for the facility explains the website of the Louisiana Department of Corrections (DOC). 

Since Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters, the Louisiana DOC has some practice in transporting large groups of inmates from one facility to another. But the state’s oldest and only maximum security prison “Angola” with a population of 5,108 detainees has never been evacuated before. It is a historical event and something new to all parties. 

The Louisiana Department of Corrections  informs: 

  • Visitation and outside activities at Louisiana State Penitentiary, Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, Avoyelles Correctional Center, Dixon Correctional Institute and Rayburn Correctional Center   are cancelled until further notice.
  • Court hearings for DOC offenders assigned to state correctional facilities scheduled for May 9th – June 17, 2011 have been continued and will be rescheduled at a later date.
  • Parole Board hearings scheduled for May 10th – June 3rd, 2011 have been postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date.
May 102011
 

Emergency for Louisiana_May 2011

Emergency for Louisiana in May 2011

On May 6, 2011, the President of the United States of America declared emergency for Louisiana due to the threat of a flood disaster that might equal the catastrophe of 1927 when “the Mississippi River remained at flood stage for a record 153 days.” .

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal aid has been made available to the State of Louisiana to supplement state and local response efforts in the area struck by flooding beginning on April 25, 2011, and continuing.

Affected are the parishes of Avoyelles, Ascension, Assumption, Catahoula, Concordia, East Carroll, Iberia, Iberville, LaSalle, Madison, Pointe Coupee, East Baton Rouge, St. Charles, St. James, St. John, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Tensas, Terrebonne, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana (where the Mississippi River surrounds the Angola Prison on three sides).

THREE VIDEOS:

http://youtu.be/qYqGF227GkU Video by Christianna Garrett, May 7, 2011


Slideshow by Charles Addison Riddle, III, whose grandfather was the Red Cross Chairman during the great flood of 1927.

http://youtu.be/McjgSp9zlfQ Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 (CNN film)

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