St. Tammany update

Update from St.Tammany Parish president for residents: Instructions for residents.

In a nutshell, they really don't want people to come back for a long time.

IF YOU HAVE EVACUATED ST. TAMMANY PARISH, DO NOT RETURN UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THE PARISH IS CLOSED. There are no utilities available. There is no gas available. Citizens returning early will only stress the very limited resources available at this time.

They also want people who stayed to please leave if they have reliable transportation. Then it says,

All St. Tammany Parish Public Schools are closed at least until Oct. 1.

Does this mean school will be open on that date? I seriously doubt it. But wouldn't that be awesome?

I called the number posted for citizens to get info. I was shocked that it worked, and expected a recording. A real person answered the phone! He asked us not to come back for a while. When I asked how long, he replied that there will be an update regarding the date and that it will probably be at least "four weeks". Then, I asked if there were police to protect our empty homes from looters during that time. He replied that at this time there has been no looting in St. Tammany, and only a couple of "attempts" and those people were now in custody. He said they were expecting some National Guardsmen on Friday to help out, just in case.

I cannot imagine what the stench will be like in my fridge and my upright freezer after 4 weeks of anarobic decomposition of the food it has in it.

Four weeks. Do you think I should call and stop my newspaper delivery?
(OK, please, allow me a little humor to diffuse the situation, ok?!)