Cleco mobilizes employees to St. Tammany to be ready for Hurricane Nate

More than 500 Cleco workers and contractors will travel to St. Tammany Parish Saturday in advance of Tropical Storm Nate. These workers will join the 100 Cleco workers already stationed in the Northshore area.

“Cleco will continue to monitor the storm and adjust our workforce and resources accordingly,” said James Lass, general manager of distribution operations and emergency management. “At this time, all of our workers’ needs from lodging and food to materials and fuel are secured so that they can quickly and safely respond to possible storm-related outages.”

Forecasters are predicting Tropical Storm Nate will make landfall in southeast Louisiana as a Category 1 hurricane late Saturday night into Sunday morning.

“Cleco is prepared for the storm,” said Lass. “We urge our customers to prepare now for the possibility of strong winds and flooding.”

Suggested preparations for this and future storms include:

Prepare a storm kit – gather supplies you might need for an outage, including flashlight, batteries, canned food, manual can opener, bottled water, medication and a first aid kit.

Put all important documents in a waterproof container.

Plan ahead for special or medical needs.

Secure sandbags.

Clear patio furniture and other objects that could move in high winds and cause damage or injury.

Fully charge cell phones, tablets and laptops.

Fuel vehicles and ensure they are in travel-ready condition.

Plan for the safety of animals living outside.

Call 911 or Cleco at 1-800-622-6537 to report an unsafe situation involving electricity.

For additional storm preparation and safety tips, visit www.cleco.com.