Some Louisiana cities facing water shortage after storm

thetowntalk.com:

Water has become a precious commodity in both the cities of Pineville and Alexandria after Hurricane Gustav on Monday knocked out water wells as it roared through Cenla as a Category One hurricane.

Gustav late Monday was downgraded to a tropical storm, but it left plenty of damage in its wake in Central Louisiana, knocking down power lines, toppling trees and generating flooding.

There were no reports of serious injuries in Central Louisiana related to Gustav as of late Monday night. The storm blew through Cenla in a northwesterly direction from Opelousas.

The city of Alexandria was covered by floodwaters in the Monroe Street underpass as of late Monday night. The pumps lost power, and the underpass filled up with water.

Rapides and Avoyelles parishes were under a tornado warning Monday night, and the rest of Cenla was under a tornado watch. There was an unconfirmed report of two tornadoes in the air in the Deville area.

Major cleanup and repair efforts are expected to begin today throughout Cenla.

Power crews face a daunting task as Gustav knocked out power to about 68 percent of all Cleco customers, including about 57 percent of the Cleco customers in Rapides Parish.

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The site also has some photos of the damage. Because of the evacuation the hurricane did not attract as much attention as other storms, but the damage is real for many communities.