In the US, slow-moving tropical storm Barry weakened today after making landfall in the southern state Louisiana.

After briefly becoming the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, Barry was downgraded to a tropical storm following its landfall yesterday.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards warned that Barry could still cause disastrous flooding across a wide stretch of the Gulf Coast of the United States overnight. Edwards warned residents to remain vigilant as it is expected to produce days of heavy rain.

Flash flood warnings have affected about 11.7 million people in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois.

Mississippi and Alabama have been hit the hardest so far, with the Alabama city of Mobile reporting a total of 136mm of rain in the last 36 hours.