Louisiana Braces for Tropical Storm as Gov. Declares State of Emergency: 'Residents Are Concerned'

Weather.gov

Parts of Louisiana are bracing for a potential tropical storm, leaving many residents concerned that their area could face flash flooding just one month after a similar storm caused significant damage.

The National Hurricane Center said Friday morning that a system currently located about 255 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana is on the move, heading for the central Gulf Coast from Intracoastal, Louisiana to the Okaloosa/Walton County line in Florida.

"The system is expected to produce heavy rainfall, considerable flash, urban and small stream flooding beginning [Friday] and continuing through the weekend," the NHC said.

The area received a tropical storm warning, which means that conditions are expected within 12 to 24 hours. A public advisory from the NHC said that maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph, and that those in the potential affected areas should expect between 4 and 8 inches of rain, with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches.

The warnings prompted Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards to issue a state of emergency on Thursday night, as well as a warning to residents to keep their power generators outside should they lose electricity.

"We lost Louisianans last year to carbon monoxide poisoning from running power generators indoors. Be safe this hurricane season and be sure that if you lose power, you run your generator outdoors and away from your home," he wrote on Twitter.

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The latest warnings come just one month after at least four people were killed when flash flooding tore through the Lake Charles area in early May.

Parts of the area - which were still reeling from Hurricanes Laura and Delta last year - received up to 18 inches of rain, and at least 400-500 homes and structures were flooded.

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In Baton Rouge, local leaders told The Advocate that residents were "feeling anxiety" ahead of this weekend's impending storm.

"It's hard not to, post-2016 flood and post-May 2021 flood. You know what can happen," Councilwoman Laurie Adams told the outlet. "I'm hearing residents are concerned. They're cleaning out ditches, they're doing things they need to do to make sure if we do have another heavy, heavy rain that they don't flood again."

Should the system develop into a tropical storm - and according to the NHC, there's a 90 percent chance it will - it will be named Tropical Storm Claudette.