ASCENSION PARISH - Parish officials provided a Sunday evening update of ongoing flood conditions in Ascension.

Interactive Ascension Parish Flood Maps are available:

Elevation

Floodzone

With water levels rising at a rapid rate, areas north of Hwy 42 and east of Hwy 421 are expected to experience extensive flooding.

Before offering a breakdown of info that covered multiple affected areas in the parish, officials were quick to dispel social media rumors circulating about a potential levee breach in Ascension. Officials said that at the time, these were merely rumors. As of Sunday night, Ascension had yet to see any levee breaches, breaks or structural damage of any type.

The area between Port Vincent and Gold Place Road will get worse on Monday. Hwy 42 and Lake are also expected to see more water.

South of Gold Place and east of Hwy 431 will be impacted depending on elevations from the Amite River. Updates will be posted on Monday concerning this area.

Stringer Bridge Road and Hwy 22 will be impacted on Monday.

Water is expected from St. Amant, Stringer Bridge Road area to move into the Gonzales area on Monday.

Several roads in the parish have been covered by water at this time, and parish officials expect the number of impassable roads to increase over the coming days.

MANCHAC

The Henderson Bayou pump was turned off at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Officials said it was turned off because the levels of water on the outside of the floodgate was too large for the pump to be effective. The gate at Henderson Bayou is now functioning as a flood gate and is holding back a significant amount of water from Manchac and its tributaries.

The tributaries along Manchac are fully saturated, and this is the cause of flooding in several areas further to the south.

LAUREL RIDGE OVER GOLD PLACE ROAD

Water is continuing to flow over Gold Place Road, and is cascading over the top of the Laurel Ridge levee. Officials said it is not a significant flow, but it is steady. This levee structure has not had any breaks, breaches or other structural damage.

There is a drop where around four feet of water is coming through between Gold Place and the Laurel Ridge levee. On Monday at crest, a significant flow of water is expected to begin coming over Gold Place Road and the Laurel Ridge levee.

MARVIN BRAUD PUMPS

The Marvin Braud pumps are fully operational at this point, but there is a very likely possibility that they will cease to function in the near future. However, this has yet to happen and the pumps will continue to run for as long as possible.

There has not been much evacuation from these high risk areas at this time, but parish officials said in a Sunday night press conference that a voluntary evacuation is in place for the area.

Multiple mapping systems have been provided for residents to determine if they live within a major risk zone. It’s located at ascensionparish.net.

The Ascension Parish Emergency Operations Center is fully activated and staff at this time. Officials say they’re working diligently to deal with all questions or requests from the public. Residents are encouraged to stay up to date with operations via their Facebook page.

A voluntary evacuation remains in place for Ascension Parish. A shelter has been set up at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center. The shelter does not accept pets, but if you have pets with you, Cara’s house is accepting pets under the main arena at Lamar Dixon. Stray animals can be brought to Barn One at Lamar Dixon. Any organizations wanting to donate food to the shelter or to emergency responders please call our EOC at 225-621-8360. Anyone wanting to donate crates, kennels or food bowls to Cara’s house can bring them to the Arena at Lamar Dixon.

911 is the first place to call in emergency situations. However, an alternate non-emergency line has been set up at 225-621-8360, option 1.