Tropical Storm Barry is set to bring rain totals not seen in many places since the 2016 August floods, with rainfall totals of 18-24 inches in some places threatening to swell south Louisiana rivers.
Governor John Bel Edwards says it’s not a great time for a system like Barry to drop by, considering Louisiana rivers are already swollen with upstream water and run-off from recent storms.
“The biggest concern is that this is going to be a major rain event across a huge portion of Louisiana, and we don’t have to wait until the rain falls for the rivers to fill up because they are already full.”
Edwards says this system has the potential to threaten areas that have just begun to recover from historic flooding three years ago by dumping nearly two feet of rainwater.
“We can anticipate for example, the Comite and Amite Rivers, and more rivers across the Northshore and central Louisiana.”
There’s been serious concerns that the Mississippi River, which has been swollen due to record Midwestern rainfall, could be overtopped in areas by storm surge from Barry, but Coastal Protection and Restoration authority Chairman Chip Kline has some good news.
“We do not anticipate any levees along the Mississippi river being overtopped. We do not any levees within the hurricane protection system around the Greater New Orleans Area being overtopped.”
