Francine weakened to a tropical depression over Mississippi Thursday after hitting Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane on Wednesday, bringing strong winds, storm surge and flooding to the state and knocking out power to nearly 400,000 homes and businesses.
At 7 a.m., Francine was located about 30 miles south of Jackson, Mississippi, and was spreading heavy rain across Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
Francine swept into Louisiana Wednesday evening, coming onshore in Terrebonne Parish as a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds. It rolled through New Orleans Thursday evening, dumping over 8 inches of rain in parts of the city, which led to widespread flooding.
Here’s how Francine, as projected, would compare to some of the major hurricanes that have impacted the Lafayette area.
Parts of Lafourche, St. John, St. Charles and Jefferson parishes saw 8 to 10 inches of rain, the highest rainfall totals across the region.
No deaths or injuries had been reported as of 9 a.m. CT.
Nearly 400,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana are without power Thursday morning, according to tracking site poweroutage.us.
Residents are being told to be cautious on roads and to treat intersections as four-way stops if the lights are out.
The Louisiana National Guard had more than 2,300 Guardsmen ready to help with search and rescue efforts, levee inspections and other emergency operations.
Gov. Jeff Landry said the White House approved his request for federal assistance.
“This federal assistance will be pivotal to save lives and property. As Hurricane Francine approaches Louisiana, I appreciate President Biden quickly approving this request,” Landry said.
This story was first reported by WWNO.