Updated Thursday, September 1 at 8:00 p.m. eastern
Tropical Depression 13 is expected to bring tremendous amounts of rain to parts of the Gulf coast, forcing Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to declare a State of Emergency Thursday evening.
Get the forecast for Tropical Depression 13 here
Governor Jindal met with his top emergency teams Thursday. He emphasized that state agencies are prepared to help coastal parishes.
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is one of the agencies already taking precautions by securing equipment along the coast. Meanwhile, the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs is taking early steps to prepare two of its facilities - the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home in Reserve and the Southwest Louisiana Veterans Home in Jennings - just in case.
Big oil companies are also taking precautions. Petroleum producers Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil are removing crews from a handful of production platforms. The move affects nine of 617 staffed production platforms in U.S. waters in the Gulf.
