Hurricane Barry has made landfall in Louisiana where it quickly weakened to a tropical storm, but its 70 mph winds, falling later to 65mph, were still expected to test flood-prevention efforts implemented after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans 14 years ago.

More than 100,000 people are without power in the area, and storm surges are predicted, but reports that levees on the Mississippi River had overtopped, or were about to, were quickly quashed by governor John Bel Edwards.

“No Mississippi River levee has been overtopped, and not a single levee in the state of Louisiana - as of right now - has failed or breached,” he said.

The coastguard said it remained concerned despite the weather event being downgraded.

“It remains a very dangerous storm, particularly with regards to the amount of water that could be dropped in those areas with full river basins,” Rear Admiral Paul Thomas said.

Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather Show all 8 1 /8 Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "I stumbled on the firefighter in front of the burning home on the second day of the Camp Fire in a town called Magalia which is about five miles from Paradise, California. There were about five or six homes burning and firefighters were trying to save the houses near to those that were on fire. The heat from the fire was so intense that the firefighter could only stand near the burning building for 10-15 seconds before having to move away" - Justin Sullivan Getty Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "This was only one of several large-scale forest fires in Brandenburg state in Germany last year, following droughts which left the forests in the region extremely dry. The year set a new record for fires that burned over 400 hectares. As a photojournalist covering the region for over 15 years, I now have to assume either drought or floods will very likely be a part of the news we will be covering every summer" - Sean Gallup Getty Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "This photograph was taken at a sunflower field at Goersdorf near Golssen in Germany. The farmers in the region are really despairing. In the years before many faced floods, in 2018 it was scorching heat. Many grow crops that are meant to feed their cows, so when the crops fail they need to buy feed. With the price of milk so low many are fearing for their economic survival if weather cycles like this continue" - Sean Gallup Getty Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "On the third day of the Camp Fire the flames had moved away from the town and were burning in the nearby hills. I captured this photo in Big Bend, as the story was shifting away from the fire itself and focusing on trying to locate missing persons and recover remains of those who had perished" - Justin Sullivan Getty Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "You can see the Belchatow power plant and the rising steam and smoke from over 20km away. I went there the day before the start of the United Nations’ climate conference in Katowice, which took place in a region where coal has a long history and coal mining is woven into local tradition. Poland has made some strides with renewables, such as with wind turbines that now dot portions of the western Polish countryside. However, given how heavily Poland still relies on coal, it is unlikely that Belchatow will close anytime soon. According to a recent study by the European Commission Belchatow is Europe’s biggest single emitter of CO2" - Sean Gallup Getty Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "I stayed the night at an alpine hut near the Waxeggkees glacier in Austria. An employee I talked to at night said, sometimes (this was August) she heard the sounds of ice breaking off the glacier and crashing across rocks. 100 years ago the glacier would have filled the photo. Now it takes over an hour to walk up to where the glacier begins" - Sean Gallup, photographer Getty Images Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "I came across Mr. Helmut Kujat, 78, by chance after I photographed a parched farm nearby. He’s actually pouring the water into a tube that helps to better let the water reach the roots of the tree. He waters the trees in front of his house almost daily throughout spring and summer due to droughts and heat waves" - Sean Gallup Getty Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "I took this photo about a week after the Camp Fire tore through the town of Paradise, California in November last year. It was the first opportunity to use a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone to view the widespread devastation since the air space around the burn zone had been closed" - Justin Sullivan Getty

The National Hurricane Centre has warned of a storm surge, heavy rains and strong winds.

Director Ken Graham said that Barry had gathered “a big slough of moisture” as it crept slowly towards land, and was expected to dump rain on the area throughout the weekend.

Three Waffle House locations in Barry’s path are closed – one of the factors the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) uses to determine how bad a storm is.

When a Waffle House shuts down, federal officials assess that the community took a significant hit.

Flood defences have been beefed up since Katrina, which left much of the city underwater and killed more than 1,800 people in 2005.

All the levees in the system built to contain the lower Mississippi river, which winds through the heart of New Orleans, have been closed for the first time since Katrina.

A coastal storm surge into the mouth of the Mississippi had been expected to push its crest to 19ft (5.8m) in New Orleans, the highest level since 1950 and dangerously close to the top of the city’s floodgates.

But while street flooding seemed probable, the US Army Corps of Engineers insisted that any breaching of the 20ft-tall levees was unlikely as the surge size was revised downward.

New Orleans’ mayor urged residents not to let their guard down as Barry weakens and moves farther inland. LaToya Cantrell said they were “not out of the woods with this system”.

Forecasters had worried that flooding rains from the storm would start hitting the city as early as Friday night. But Saturday was largely calm in New Orleans. There were intermittent bands of rain and gusty winds, but no flooding as of Saturday evening.

However, water did come over the top of levees in Terrebonne and Plaquemines parishes.

Barry is the first hurricane of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season and the 50th hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana since records began in 1851.

Authorities had urged people to secure property, stock up on supplies, and shelter indoors, but many opted to flee.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered in outlying coastal areas beyond the protection of levees.

Oil and gas operators had to evacuate hundreds of platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico to escape the storm.