5:35 p.m. ET, July 12, 2019
Louisiana senator: We are "as ready as we can be" for Barry
From CNN's Anna Laffrey
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy on Friday said that while Tropical Storm Barry will be a “serious storm,” the people in his home state are “as ready as we can be” to handle the extreme weather coming.
The Republican lawmaker said Louisiana’s emergency procedures are underway and "federal resources are here."
“That doesn’t mean that this is going to be a cake walk, or this is the big rock candy mountain here," Kennedy said.
He said his biggest concern is the heavy rain.
"Water is our concern. No. 1, you get 10 to 20 inches of rain — you're gonna flood even if you're on Pikes Peak. We also were concerned about the levees overtopping," the senator said.
Kennedy continued: "I've been through a lot of these. Every storm is different, but they have two things in common: they make you realize that the power of nature can humble the power of human beings anytime it wants to and the other thing I always learn is if you are not scared, you're either a fool or a liar."
Kennedy was Louisiana's state treasurer when Hurricane Katrina hit, the senator said. He said the state is “infinitely better prepared” to endure Barry than it was to take on Katrina.
“[Katrina] was a dumpster fire at all levels — federal, state and local,” Kennedy said. “We had nowhere to go but up.”
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