Gov. Edwards declares state of emergency ahead of TS Beta

BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) -- Gov. John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency in advance of Tropical Storm Beta, he announced today.

The declaration allows the state to assist local governments with their response needs.

The National Weather Service has indicated that Tropical Storm Beta, which is currently located off the coast of Texas in the northwestern portion of the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to make landfall near the middle Texas coast late Monday or early Tuesday as a tropical storm.  

“Tropical Storm warnings are in effect for much of Louisiana’s coastline and the slow movement of Tropical Storm Beta puts southwest Louisiana at risk for flash flooding and river flooding today through Wednesday or Thursday,” Gov. Edwards said. “Storm surge of one to four feet is expected across the Texas and Louisiana coast tonight through Wednesday or Thursday. This could be especially problematic in areas that are already recovering from Hurricane Laura and residents should take this threat seriously.”

The full declaration is below: