Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour toured the Mississippi River flooding from the Steele Bayou Control Structure to Grand Gulf in a helicopter Friday and warned residents in areas of potential danger to get out — quickly.

“Move what you can, elevate things that can be elevated, tie down what can float, but most of all, evacuate to save your own life,” the governor said at Vicksburg Municipal Airport, where water from the river was climbing toward the runway.

Barbour said levees are holding and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers remains confident of them, with six days to go until the river crests at Vicksburg.

The governor said he would be back to the Vicksburg area next week and later.

“We’ll be working on this the rest of my time as governor,” said Barbour, who will leave office in January after serving two four-year terms.

Read more in Saturday’s The Vicksburg Post