Tropical Storm Francine caused significant damage to Louisiana, USA, transforming from a hurricane to a tropical storm. The immediate effects of the disaster include severe flooding, widespread power outages, flight cancellations and the evacuation of residents from flooded areas.
Late Wednesday night, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an update at 10:00 p.m. local time that Francine had weakened to a tropical storm after first making landfall in Terrebonne County, Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane before bringing up to state with strong winds and downpours as a Category 1 storm. Now "rapid weakening is forecast," the center said, noting that the storm is expected to move more slowly to the north-northeast over the next few days and become a tropical depression by Thursday evening.
The storm was the first hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana since 2021 and the third to make landfall in the U.S. this year, the most since 2020.
Here are the latest updates:
• "Francine" loses momentum as it moves through Louisiana. It is expected to track across west-central Mississippi into the Mid-South on Thursday and Friday. "Life-threatening storm surge, significant flash and urban flooding, hurricane-force winds and tornadoes are expected along Louisiana, Mississippi and parts of the Alabama coast," the US National Weather Service said.
• Flooding in the New Orleans area: The National Weather Service reported that about 15 to 20 cm of rain fell in the New Orleans area, and a flash flood emergency was briefly declared for the area Wednesday night, meaning potentially catastrophic damage and life threatening A less severe flash flood warning was later issued for the New Orleans metropolitan area until 1:45 a.m. Thursday. Although no more rain is expected early Thursday, the area has already been hit by flash flooding, the weather service said. In St. James County, where 10-15 cm of rain fell, officials urged residents not to go outside, as flooding from Francine flooded houses. And in Jefferson County, officials urged residents to stay indoors and off the roads as "severe street flooding" created dangerous conditions. Elsewhere, residents of Morgan City were asked to stay indoors due to an "unusual amount of flooding."
• Strong winds also hit the region, with tropical storm warnings in effect early Thursday morning along the southern Gulf Coast from Intracoastal City, Louisiana to the Alabama-Florida border, according to the NHC's advisory from 1 a.m. local time. Heavy rain and gusty winds spread across New Orleans, with sustained winds of 59.5 km/h and gusts of 75.6 km/h reported at Lakefront Airport.
• At least 26 people rescued from flooding: In Lafourche County, efforts were made to rescue 26 residents who were trapped in flooded homes in Lafourche County, according to a statement from the sheriff's office. Most of the area remains without power, and a curfew will remain in effect until 10 a.m. Thursday local time, officials said.
• Damage to trees and infrastructure reported: Several counties along the Louisiana coast reported downed trees and power lines as Francine pounded the area with damaging winds. Terrebonne County, where Francine made landfall, experienced power outages and downed trees, Chief Public Affairs Officer Robbie Lee said. Street flooding and downed trees were reported in Lafourche County, where more than 25,000 power outages were reported, a public affairs official said. In St. James County, just off the coast, power lines were down, several transformers exploded and carports were blown onto the roadway, the sheriff's office said in a statement on X. Jefferson County officials urged households to limit water use because of a large and outdated the county's sewer system was overflowing with stormwater runoff.
• Thousands experience power outages: More than 392,000 utility customers were without power at about 3 a.m. Thursday, PowerOutage.us reported. Some areas in the southern part of the state had power outages that affected more than half of the utility's customers, including Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary's and Assumption. AT&T and T-Mobile customers "across a large area" also had trouble contacting 911 for some time, but the problem now appears to have been resolved, the city of New Orleans reported on social media Wednesday night.
• Tornadoes also possible: A few tornadoes are possible Wednesday night across parts of southeast Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. A tornado warning was issued for those areas until 6 a.m. local time, the Storm Prediction Center said. On Thursday, the tornado risk will extend to other parts of Alabama, southwest Georgia and the Florida Panhandle.
• Southern rainfall totals: Flood warnings are in effect for more than 10 million people in the southern United States. Francine is expected to bring rainfall totals of 10 to 20 cm, with up to 30 cm in places, across southeast Louisiana, Mississippi, southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle by Thursday evening, the National Hurricane Center said.
• Francine may cause life-threatening storm surge: Storm surge warnings are in effect for the Louisiana and Mississippi coastlines from Pearl River, Louisiana to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Evacuation orders were issued for several communities along the Gulf Coast this week, mainly due to the risk of storm surge.
• Storm affects airports, colleges: Airlines canceled all flights out of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport on Wednesday, and some additional cancellations were made by Thursday morning local time, according to a status update on the airport's website. The airport is monitoring conditions, but will remain open "unless conditions become dangerous." Individual airlines will decide whether to cancel flights based on weather conditions in the area, the update said. Transportation issues also arose when a Carnival cruise scheduled to return Thursday was delayed by Francine, the cruise line said in a statement Tuesday. Because of the severe weather, several Louisiana universities and colleges, including Louisiana State University, Nuñez Community College and Tulane University, closed their campuses or moved to remote classes this week via Francine.
