SPRINGFIELD - Livingston Parish residents are preparing for a long-distance impact from Hurricane Beryl after some nuisance flooding two weeks ago from Tropical Storm Alberto.

On June 20, Tropical Storm Alberto came ashore about 700 miles away from the Baton Rouge area. Its winds drove water from Lake Maurepas into some low-lying areas.

Hurricane Beryl is a much stronger storm, and landfall is expected to be about 250 miles closer. If the waterways were closed from flooding caused by Alberto, it's possible they could be shut down again before the end of the holiday weekend.

Many residents said a closure would be unfortunate, as they hoped to be out fishing or playing in the water all weekend. The majority of them agreed that safety is more important.

"It would be unfortunate, but I would totally understand because our safety. I know everybody would consider the safety of people first of course. But it would be unfortunate because it's beautiful here," boater Monica Hebert said.

Local emergency managers are monitoring the storm's path and will have the final say on when the waterways might close.