New Orleans residents huddle at home, bars as hurricane threat looms

US President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for Louisiana on Friday, freeing up federal disaster assistance if needed

Tropical Storm Barry, poised to make landfall as the first Atlantic hurricane of 2019, churned ever closer to Louisiana's shore early on Saturday as most New Orleans residents huddled at home, or in bars, bracing for the threat of severe flooding.

Authorities urged citizens to secure property, stock up provisions and shelter in place. However, some nervous residents opted to flee the city, and tourism officials reported an abrupt exodus of out-of-town visitors on Friday.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered in outlying coastal areas beyond the protection of levees in neighboring Plaquemines and Jefferson parishes south of the city.

The storm, packing maximum sustained