On Thursday night, a federal emergency was declared by President Trump for Louisiana. He gave authorities to the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency. The team will now have the right for coordinating and assisting all disaster relief efforts ahead of the strengthening of Tropical Storm Barry.
Trump approved the federal assistance at the request received from Mr. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana Gov. As per the department, 28 parishes were issued emergency declarations within the past 24 hours and 14 were in the process of doing so. In order to face the torrential downpours and heavy floods, the residents have been stacking sandbags or fleeing to higher ground.
On Thursday evening, Trump wrote a tweet which read as – “Everyone on the Gulf Coast is kindly requested to please be prepared, careful and safe. While making preparations to protect your homes and loved ones from floods as well as the coming storm, please make it a point that you heed the directions of @FEMA, State and Local Officials. We are working closely with them to overcome this crisis.”
In response to this tweet from the President, Edwards expressed appreciation by twitter message thanking Trump for his quick response.
As per the forecast reports, Barry is a Category 1 storm and could pack winds of about 75 mph, when it comes ashore just barely over the threshold for a hurricane. Almost more than a foot and a half of rain is expected to come by way of potentially ruinous downpours that could go on for hours. This storm is likely to pass through the metropolitan area of nearly 1.3 million people and then push itself to the inland.
The National Weather Service said that the Mississippi River is expected to rise to 19 feet by Saturday morning at a key gauge in the New Orleans area where Hurricane Katrina had caused catastrophic flooding in 2005.
In this hour of need and to face the upcoming storm Barry, Edwards has authorized up to 3,000 soldiers and airmen from the Louisiana National Guard ahead of the storm. Rescue crews and National Guard troops are ordered to take up positions in high-water vehicles around the state as Louisiana braced for the arrival of the storm. The same was reported in Rouge’s WBRZ-TV.
