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Tyler Holland guides his bike in the water as the winds of Tropical Storm Barry push Lake Pontchartrain's water over the dike on Saturday.
David J. Phillip / AP
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David J. Phillip / AP
Tyler Holland guides his bike in the water as the winds of Tropical Storm Barry push Lake Pontchartrain's water over the dike on Saturday.
David J. Phillip / AP
A weak tropical storm, Barry, continued to submerge parts of Louisiana on Sunday as it moved northward over the western part of the state.
Although Barry has been out of breath since landing on the Louisiana coast on Saturday, the National Meteorological Service has warned of the continuing dangers of storm surges and the possibility of tornadoes in parts of parts of Louisiana. and Mississippi.
"This storm still has a long way to go before leaving the state," said Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. "We always have a significant amount of rain that happens to us."
Forecasters say that precipitation in south-central Louisiana is currently between 6 and 12 inches, with isolated maximum rainfall of up to 20 inches, which could result in "dangerous, life-threatening floods".
Barry was briefly a Category 1 hurricane but the system was weakened into a tropical storm. And Sunday, sustained maximum winds are expected to remain around 45 mph, mostly near the coast.
The NWS expects Barry to weaken and become a tropical depression later on Sunday.
With the slow system causing such downpours in saturated soil and along already high rivers and streams, Louisiana Governor Edwards said the time has not yet come for locals to behave as if they were out of the woods.
"Some people may think that the threat is over." Some people might be tempted to think that because it was a category 1 when it got ashore and that it was already downgraded to a tropical storm, that does not pose a threat, "said Edwards. . "This is not the case."
As Barry moved inland, water poured down the dykes of the parishes of Terrebonne and Plaquemines, according to AccuWeather, who was watching the storm. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for all areas along Highway 315 in Louisiana.
Governor Edwards said on Saturday night that the dike overruns have been resolved and are no longer a concern.
More than 130,000 customers in Louisiana remained without electricity early Sunday, according to poweroutage.us. Many companies remain closed, air travel has been delayed and agreements in the region have been cut short. Coastguards closed the Mississippi River to maritime traffic.
The storm is also impacting the US energy sector. About 300 offshore oil and gas platforms and platforms have been evacuated, resulting in a 70% drop in oil production and about the natural gas produced in the Gulf has been cut in half, according to the Bureau of the safety and environmental protection.
As the storm headed north, officials at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans announced Sunday that most airlines are resuming their normal operations. "If your trip is scheduled today, check with your airline directly for more specific information – check in more than 2 hours in advance as we may see long lines", airport the officials said.
The Louisiana National Guard had deployed some 3,000 soldiers into the state. And Coast Guard helicopters rescued, while people were seeking safety on rooftops and other heights as torrential rains hit the area.
NPR's Debbie Elliott contributed to this report.
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