New Orleans flooding as first tropical storm of the season approaches

by Rebecca Klar - 07/10/19 1:52 PM ET

New Orleans streets flooded Wednesday ahead of the first tropical storm of the season.

The city urged residents to stay off the road, tweeting out an alert about reported flooding.

In a statement issued to CNN, the city said police, fire and EMS have responded to more than 250 emergency calls related to flooding.

New Orleans City Hall was closed and all nonessential staff were sent home.

{mosads}A flash flood emergency was declared in the region, with four to six inches of rain reported as of 9:30 a.m., according to AccuWeather.

The developing storm in the Gulf of Mexico has caused some oil rigs to evacuate nonessential staff, CNN reports.

The storm could also possibly turn into a hurricane, CNN reports. Residents in Louisiana and Mississippi will likely see heavy rain, in some cases more than a foot, CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said.

Tweets of the conditions show people boating through the flooded New Orleans streets and water seeping into public buses.

Magazine Street is really flooded right now. This video of kayakers was taken near @TraceysNola at the corner of Magazine Street and Washington Avenue. @NOLAnews pic.twitter.com/u76hwdVgNF

— Della Hasselle (@dellahasselle) July 10, 2019