LIVINGSTON PARISH - The moments right after a hurricane or natural disaster can often be the most dangerous, as people drive on rain-soaked roads and debris-filled waterways. Still, officials in Livingston Parish say they’re getting ahead of the issue.

Tuesday night the Livingston Parish Ordinance Committee took the first steps to change how waterways are closed in the parish.

Council member Dean Coates says closing a waterway for public use after a storm can be essential to avoid flooding and damage to property, but currently, he says there’s too much red tape and the guidelines aren’t clear.

“Currently the system we have requires the homeland security director to determine when the waterways,” Coates said. “It's really subjective.”

The ordinance Coates proposed, changes the perimeters to close the waterways, setting the water gauge in French settlement to three feet and Killian to four feet.

"We want to protect property. Rivers come out of the banks, you have boats flying through there, they're going to tear up docks, boat houses, sea walls, and push water into homes. We don't want any of that to occur."

Rain from Hurricane Francine caused flooding in Livingston, and the flooding caused debris to float down the waterways, according to Sheriff Jason Ard. He says for boaters, the dangers can often be below the water.

“The biggest hazard is those that you can't see - the logs or the refrigerator that someone just sunk, and people are riding boats that they don't realize are there," Ard said.