HOUSTON, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Tropical storm Barry remains a significant flooding threat for the Lower Mississippi Valley into the Mid-South region, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Sunday morning.
The NHC said on Twitter that Barry is moving northward over northwestern Louisiana state. "There is a high risk of flash flooding today in portions of Louisiana."
A day after Barry hit the United States as a hurricane, it continued to dump heavy rains over the area as it was downgraded to a tropical storm. As of Sunday morning, Barry was moving north at just 6 miles (about 10 km) per hour, dumping large amounts of rain.
Governor of Louisiana John Bel Edwards said late Saturday night that the worst scenario "is yet to come."
The level of the Mississippi River, already swollen from historic rains and flooding upstream, was at nearly 17 feet (5.2 meters) in New Orleans -- just below flood stage.
However, new forecasts show many rivers wouldn't reach their maximum height predicted before the storm hit, though flash floods remained a threat, Edwards said.
As of Sunday morning, more than 100,000 customers in Louisiana had no electricity, and over 60,000 were customers of Entergy Corporation, which is primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations in the Deep South of the United States.
Meanwhile, most airlines, which cancelled their flights due to the storm on Saturday, have resumed normal operations at New Orleans International Airport by noontime on Sunday.
By Sunday morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center had discontinued its tropical storm warning for Southeast Louisiana as the storm moved inland. Barry is expected to move across central and northern Louisiana and then over Arkansas on Sunday night and Monday.
