CYPREMORT POINT, La — As tropical storm Bertha moves along Louisiana’s coast, many residents in Saint Mary Parish spent the afternoon preparing on the hottest day of 2026 so far.

People living in the area are no strangers to hurricanes or storms; many said they aren’t too concerned about the storm, but state officials are urging everyone in South Louisiana to stay prepared and alert.

The nearest grocery store is 15 miles away in the Lydia community; worker Blake Semar said customers were flocking there to prepare for the storm.

"Everybody is getting ready. They’re coming to get water. Anything to stay hydrated. It’s very hot. You walk outside for five minutes, and you’re sweating,“ Semar said.

Shane Guillotte said he and other residents are more concerned about the heat than the storm.

"This here, this is just a little breeze coming through for us. We were annihilated during Andrew. This store behind me, Lydia’s Food Store, was annihilated. They had to rebuild the store. We had a brick car wash that was flattened,” Guilloutte said.

Utility crews were mobilized across the parish Wednesday.

Sandbags were also made available to any parish resident who needed them. For a list of sandbag locations, click here.