 In addition to the tropical cyclone watches and warnings , several other actions were taken as Chantal approached . More than 600 oil workers were moved inland , though a man drowned while attempting to evacuate a rig south of New Orleans , Louisiana . Mayor of Port Arthur Malcolm Grant asked 800 residents to evacuate Sabine Pass , due to potential coastal flooding isolating the area . Shelters were opened at various schools in Port Arthur and Beaumont . In nearby Orange , crews at emergency centers distributed sand bags . About 8 @,@ 500 residents of Cameron Parish , Louisiana evacuated , with at least 67 people taking shelter at a school in Lake Charles . An additional 2 @,@ 500 people fled Grand Isle , as the threat of the only road to the island flooding loomed . 
