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| Tropical Storm Barry Live Updates: Storm Makes Landfall in Louisiana and Weakens | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| After a brief life as a hurricane, Barry has been downgraded back to a tropical storm. The center of the storm was about 30 miles south of Lafayette, swirling near Intracoastal City, La. | |
| The storm is moving northwest at 6 m.p.h., and forecasters predict it will continue through central Louisiana on Saturday night. Maximum sustained wind speeds are now near 70 m.p.h. and tropical-storm-force winds are extending outward up to 175 miles from the center. | |
| But wind speed is not what is troubling much of the region. Experts predict possible rains of up to 25 inches in parts of southern Louisiana and coastal Mississippi, and the slow-moving storm could create big flooding risks in inland areas like greater Baton Rouge. Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders in communities along the coast, including parts of Plaquemines, Jefferson and Lafourche Parishes. | |
| [Read: Katrina on its mind, New Orleans is keeping an eye on its levees and pumps.] | [Read: Katrina on its mind, New Orleans is keeping an eye on its levees and pumps.] |
| In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell remained confident about the city’s response, but said flooding was still a threat, and warned people to not get comfortable. | |
| “We are not out of the conditions that will cause heavy rainfall for the city of New Orleans,” Ms. Cantrell said at City Hall on Saturday morning. | |
| To tackle flooding, New Orleans deputy chief administrative officer Ramsey Green said city public-works crews have pulled out 60 tons of debris from underground drainage lines after flooding from a storm three days ago. | |
| Col. Kenneth Donnelly of the Louisiana National Guard said 3,800 troops, or a third of the personnel, had been deployed to Louisiana. | |
| No curfew will be called on Saturday, said New Orleans Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson. “But we are strongly encouraging everyone: Shelter in place,” he said. | |
| Officials said the potential for the Mississippi River to overtop levees ringing the New Orleans metropolitan area is no longer a concern. The river is predicted to peak at 17.1 feet on Monday, below the 20-foot levees. | |
| More than 95,000 people were without power in Louisiana as of about noon on Saturday, according to the state’s largest energy companies. | |
| Entergy Louisiana reported that about 75,000 of its customers had been affected by power failures, mostly in the southern parts of the state. Two other power companies reported a combined 20,000 customers affected. | Entergy Louisiana reported that about 75,000 of its customers had been affected by power failures, mostly in the southern parts of the state. Two other power companies reported a combined 20,000 customers affected. |
| All flights have been grounded at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, said Kevin Dolliole, the aviation director. | |
| Forecasters had predicted that Barry would run ashore near Morgan City, about 20 miles from the coast. But David Naquin, homeland security director for St. Mary Parish, which includes Morgan City, said the latest reports indicated that the storm had shifted. | Forecasters had predicted that Barry would run ashore near Morgan City, about 20 miles from the coast. But David Naquin, homeland security director for St. Mary Parish, which includes Morgan City, said the latest reports indicated that the storm had shifted. |
| “It’s going to push a little bit further west,” he said. | “It’s going to push a little bit further west,” he said. |
| This did not bring him any relief. “Every time it moves west, it’s actually worse for us,” Mr. Naquin said. “We get the worst side of the storm. It just puts us in the bull’s-eye of all the rain.” | This did not bring him any relief. “Every time it moves west, it’s actually worse for us,” Mr. Naquin said. “We get the worst side of the storm. It just puts us in the bull’s-eye of all the rain.” |
| But despite strong winds and increasing rain, Mayor Frank Grizzaffi of Morgan City was cautiously optimistic late Saturday morning. “Things are pretty good here,” he said. “For the most part, we’re holding up.” The city’s biggest concern for the moment was a near-citywide power outage caused by intensifying winds that left streets and yards littered with shattered tree limbs. There have been no reports of injuries, the mayor said. | |
| Mr. Grizzaffi had issued a voluntary evacuation order before the storm but most of Morgan City’s 12,000 residents were opting to stay put. “I would have to say that 90 percent of our population is still here,” he said. | |
| The United States Coast Guard rescued 13 people by helicopter early Saturday from a coastal island in southeastern Louisiana outside the area’s flood protection system, according to the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office. | |
| Only about two dozen people live on Isle de Jean Charles, said Mart Black, a spokesman for the parish’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. The lone road into the island flooded, trapping the residents who had stayed there. A voluntary evacuation order had been issued earlier for Isle de Jean Charles, as well as other areas unprotected by the levee system. | |
| Mr. Black, who also serves as the parish’s coastal restoration director, said he was uncertain if other residents remained on the island but believed that all “who wanted to be rescued” were taken away by helicopter. He did not know whether anyone had to be hospitalized. | Mr. Black, who also serves as the parish’s coastal restoration director, said he was uncertain if other residents remained on the island but believed that all “who wanted to be rescued” were taken away by helicopter. He did not know whether anyone had to be hospitalized. |
| Isle de Jean Charles, populated in part by Native American tribes whose families have been there for generations, has often been written about as a harbinger to climate change’s impact on coastal communities. The island has lost 98 percent of its land over the last 60 years. It sits about two miles south of the 14-foot levee that protects most of the parish. | Isle de Jean Charles, populated in part by Native American tribes whose families have been there for generations, has often been written about as a harbinger to climate change’s impact on coastal communities. The island has lost 98 percent of its land over the last 60 years. It sits about two miles south of the 14-foot levee that protects most of the parish. |
| The rescue effort remains active, said Petty Officer Lexie Preston, a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard, and more calls for help are coming. | |
| A team of researchers (plus a reporter and a photographer) flew this week into the heart of Hurricane Barry, then a tropical storm, to study its formation over the Gulf of Mexico. | A team of researchers (plus a reporter and a photographer) flew this week into the heart of Hurricane Barry, then a tropical storm, to study its formation over the Gulf of Mexico. |
| Called hurricane hunters, the researchers and their crew launch probes and collect real-time data that is crucial to understanding hurricanes across the globe. It is especially important to gather data from weather systems like Barry that defy predictions: The weirdest storms can sometimes produce the best science. | Called hurricane hunters, the researchers and their crew launch probes and collect real-time data that is crucial to understanding hurricanes across the globe. It is especially important to gather data from weather systems like Barry that defy predictions: The weirdest storms can sometimes produce the best science. |
| Flying these planes is not for the faint of heart. Everyone aboard is encouraged to keep a blue plastic sick bag at the ready. Violent turbulence can strike at any time. | Flying these planes is not for the faint of heart. Everyone aboard is encouraged to keep a blue plastic sick bag at the ready. Violent turbulence can strike at any time. |
| [Read the full story here.] | [Read the full story here.] |
| A levee has overtopped on Highway 23 in Plaquemines Parish south of New Orleans, a parish spokeswoman confirmed on Saturday morning. | A levee has overtopped on Highway 23 in Plaquemines Parish south of New Orleans, a parish spokeswoman confirmed on Saturday morning. |
| The levee is in the Myrtle Grove and Point Celeste communities on a spit of southeast Louisiana stretching into the Gulf. The spokeswoman, Jade Duplessis, said that the levee had not been breached, but that water from back channels close to the Mississippi River had overtopped it. | |
| “These areas in which we’re seeing this overtopping, this was anticipated,” Ms. Duplessis said. “We’re prepared for this.” | “These areas in which we’re seeing this overtopping, this was anticipated,” Ms. Duplessis said. “We’re prepared for this.” |
| Plaquemines Parish President Kirk Lenin said the highway eventually “could become impassable.” | |
| Later in the morning, a levee mound overtopped in Terrebonne Parish, west of New Orleans and Plaquemines Parish. A parish spokesman said the top of the levee had been contained within 20 minutes of overtopping to stop the water flow. The only serious impacts were to a road leading to a pump station in the town of Montegut. | |
| In New Orleans, residents were waiting to see whether their complex pump-and-levee protection system would hold in the storm. | In New Orleans, residents were waiting to see whether their complex pump-and-levee protection system would hold in the storm. |
| The city, which is largely below sea level, relies on dozens of massive drainage pumps to flush water out of its streets, and on miles of federal levees to block storm surges. But the aging pumps have proved vulnerable to breakdowns and power losses in recent years, while spring flooding has pushed the river higher over the last several months, nearly to the top of the levees. | The city, which is largely below sea level, relies on dozens of massive drainage pumps to flush water out of its streets, and on miles of federal levees to block storm surges. But the aging pumps have proved vulnerable to breakdowns and power losses in recent years, while spring flooding has pushed the river higher over the last several months, nearly to the top of the levees. |
| Three years of crushing natural disasters have dwindled the ranks of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, potentially straining its ability to help victims of the storm. | Three years of crushing natural disasters have dwindled the ranks of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, potentially straining its ability to help victims of the storm. |
| Fewer than a quarter of the 13,654 people in FEMA’s trained disaster work force are available to assist with Barry or indeed any other emergency, agency documents show, because the rest are deployed elsewhere or otherwise unavailable. That is down from the 34 percent who were available at this point in 2018, and from 55 percent two years ago. | Fewer than a quarter of the 13,654 people in FEMA’s trained disaster work force are available to assist with Barry or indeed any other emergency, agency documents show, because the rest are deployed elsewhere or otherwise unavailable. That is down from the 34 percent who were available at this point in 2018, and from 55 percent two years ago. |
| “I’m worried,” said Elizabeth A. Zimmerman, who ran FEMA’s disaster operations during the Obama administration. “That’s of concern, to make sure that there are enough people to respond.” | “I’m worried,” said Elizabeth A. Zimmerman, who ran FEMA’s disaster operations during the Obama administration. “That’s of concern, to make sure that there are enough people to respond.” |
| [Read more here about the concerns over short-staffing at FEMA.] | [Read more here about the concerns over short-staffing at FEMA.] |
| The Gulf Coast has always had hurricanes, of course. But the extreme rain associated with this storm, projected to be 10 to 20 inches or even more, fits into emerging research suggesting that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of storms with heavy rainfall. | The Gulf Coast has always had hurricanes, of course. But the extreme rain associated with this storm, projected to be 10 to 20 inches or even more, fits into emerging research suggesting that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of storms with heavy rainfall. |
| A warming atmosphere can hold more moisture, dumping it out in form of heavy downpours — a phenomenon seen not just in storms like Barry, but in the record floods across much of the Midwest this year. | A warming atmosphere can hold more moisture, dumping it out in form of heavy downpours — a phenomenon seen not just in storms like Barry, but in the record floods across much of the Midwest this year. |
| Those floodwaters have fed the Mississippi River, keeping it at flood stage at many points. The Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre spillway above New Orleans twice in one season for the first time since it was built in 1931. | Those floodwaters have fed the Mississippi River, keeping it at flood stage at many points. The Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre spillway above New Orleans twice in one season for the first time since it was built in 1931. |
| [Read about how hurricanes are getting wetter as the climate changes.] | [Read about how hurricanes are getting wetter as the climate changes.] |
| Reporting was contributed by Richard Fausset, Emily Lane and Beau Evans from New Orleans; Dave Montgomery from Morgan City, La.; Christopher Flavelle from Washington; and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and John Schwartz from New York. | Reporting was contributed by Richard Fausset, Emily Lane and Beau Evans from New Orleans; Dave Montgomery from Morgan City, La.; Christopher Flavelle from Washington; and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and John Schwartz from New York. |