Dangerous and slow-moving Barry made landfall as a hurricane along the central Louisiana coast Saturday afternoon as residents braced for life-threatening rain, storm surge and winds.
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Some areas of Louisiana are under mandatory evacuation orders as Barry -- the first hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season -- barrels through the state.
Barry was at Category 1 hurricane strength when it made landfall near Intracoastal City before weakening to a tropical storm.
Though the storm is no longer a hurricane, it's set to bring extremely dangerous amounts of rainfall overnight, which could lead to flash flooding.
David J. Phillip/AP
Dan nderson/REX via EPAVIDEO: View of LA 1 from the South Lafourche Levee. Video provided by Golden Meadow Police Chief Reggie Pitre. #TropicalStormBarry
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Rainfall could reach 20 inches in some areas. The hardest hit spots will be west of New Orleans, from Morgan City to Lafayette to Baton Rouge.
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In Terrebonne Parish, trapped residents were rescued by an air crew early Saturday as floodwaters rose, according to the Coast Guard.
In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Saturday urged residents and visitors to shelter in place, stay off the roads and brace for flooding.
All flights to and from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport are cancelled for the day.
"We are not in any way out of the woods," Cantrell said Saturday. "It is coming our way."
The Rolling Stones moved their Sunday concert in the city to Monday.
Jonathan Bachman/Reuters
Jonathan Bachman/Reuters
Pete Gaynor, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told "Good Morning America" Saturday that it was time to hunker down.
"If you haven't made preparations, it's probably too late," he said. "Listen to your local officials, stay off the roads, stay inside and wait until you get the all-clear."
Jonathan Bachman/Reuters
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University is closed through Sunday.
Though rain is the biggest threat, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards warned the winds can topple trees and utility poles.
The whipping winds knocked a massive tree onto Antonio Collins' Morgan City house, leaving the bedroom open and vulnerable to the rain.
"We ain't got the worst part yet," Collins told ABC News on Saturday.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP
Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images
Over 123,000 customers are without power in Louisiana, including 100% of Morgan City.
The city's mayor, Frank Grizzaffi, who had prepared for intense flooding, called the damaging winds a "curve ball."
"All of a sudden a city that hadn't seen a hurricane in 10 years, we found our weak spots quick and we ended up with some utility issues," Grizzaffi told ABC News on Saturday. "We're gonna do the best we can to restore power as quickly as we can."
As severe weather enters #Louisiana, many areas are starting to see some power outages. As a quick reminder, if traffic lights are flashing red treat the intersection as a 4-way stop.
Video taken LA 73 @ I-10#HurricaneBarry #TropicalStormBarry #Barry
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ROAD CLOSURE: LA 1 is CLOSED between St Charles Bypass Road and Lefort Bypass Road in Thibodaux due to downed electrical poles and wires. Detour to 308.
For all the latest updates from #Barry, go to LPSO.net/STORM. #lawx
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