Francine was a Category 2 hurricane when it hit Louisiana late Wednesday. It knocked out power to more than 275,000 homes and businesses, flooded coastal communities with storm surge, and caused flood fears in New Orleans and beyond as heavy rains spread along the northern Gulf Coast.
The National Hurricane Centre said that the storm would weaken to a tropical depression as it moved north over Mississippi on Thursday.
Forecasters said that parts of Mississippi and neighbouring states could get 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimetres) of rain. They also warned that scattered flash floods could happen as far away as Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta.
Francine hit the coast of Louisiana Wednesday night with winds of 100 mph (155 kph) in Terrebonne Parish. The fragile coastal area hasn’t fully recovered from a run of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021, and Francine hit it hard. Then it moved quickly towards New Orleans at 17 mph (26 kph), dumping heavy rain on the city all night.
There were no reports of deaths or injuries right away. TV news from coastal towns showed waves crashing against sea walls. The waves came from nearby lakes, rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico. It rained so hard that water poured into the streets of the city. In the strong winds, oak and cypress trees leaned over, and some utility posts moved back and forth.
“To be honest, it’s a little worse than I thought it would be,” said Alvin Cockerham, fire chief of Morgan City, which is about 30 miles (50 km) from where the storm’s centre hit land. “I brought all of my trucks back to the station.” Being outside in this is too risky.
Poweroutage.us, a website that keeps track of power blackouts, says that there were over 362,546 outages in southeast Louisiana a few hours after the storm hit land.
Laura Leftwich said that strong winds had blown away two big birdhouses outside while she was staying with her mother just outside of Morgan City. She had a generator that powered her internet link, so she could video chat with her friends. She held her computer up to a window to show them how the street was flooding.
Leftwich, 40, said, “I wouldn’t have the guts to look outside” if the storm had been worse. “It’s a little scary.”
Francine was the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It got its strength from the very warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and became a Category 2 storm before it hit land.
Along with heavy rain, there was still a chance of tornadoes spreading from the storm Thursday.
For most of Louisiana and Mississippi, it could rain 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimetres), and in some places it could rain 12 inches (30 centimetres). This was said by Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane expert at the hurricane centre.
Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana said that the National Guard would spread out to help areas that were hit by Francine. To deal with the storm, they have food, water, almost 400 high-water vehicles, about 100 boats, and 50 aeroplanes, which could be used for search-and-rescue missions.
The Weather Channel says that since the middle of the 1800s, 57 storms have passed over or hit land in Louisiana. Some of the worst, most expensive, and deadly storms in U.S. history are among them.
Morgan City has about 11,500 people living in it. It is on the Atchafalaya River in south Louisiana, and there are lakes and swamp all around it. The city’s website calls it the “gateway to the Gulf of Mexico for the oilfield and shrimp industries.”
As a way to help Louisiana get government money and help faster, President Joe Biden declared an emergency. It was also declared an emergency by Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi and Gov. Landry of Louisiana.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said it sent more than 100,000 sandbags to the southern part of the state. On Wednesday and Thursday, many school districts were closed, according to the Department of Education.
