MORGAN CITY, La. — Hurricane Francine slammed into coastal Louisiana Wednesday night as a dangerous Category 2 storm that knocked out power to more than a quarter-million customers and threatened to cause widespread flooding as it sent a potentially deadly storm surge hurtling inland along the Gulf Coast.
Francine slammed into the coast of Terrebonne Parish, about 30 miles southwest of Morgan City, the National Hurricane Center said at 4 p.m. CDT. With sustained winds of nearly 100 mph, the hurricane then struck a fragile coastal region that has not fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021.
Morgan City Fire Chief Alvin Cockerham said the hurricane quickly flooded streets, snapped power lines and brought down tree limbs.
“To be honest with you, it’s a little worse than I expected,” Cockerham said of the attack. “I’ve brought all my trucks back to the station. It’s too dangerous to be out there in those conditions.”
No deaths or injuries were immediately reported.
Television news reports in coastal communities showed waves from nearby lakes, rivers and Gulf waters crashing over levees. Water poured into city streets in blinding rains. Oaks and cypress trees leaned in the strong winds, and some power poles swayed back and forth. As Francine continued inland, it dumped torrential rains on New Orleans and the surrounding area, raising fears of flooding.
Power outages in Louisiana lasted more than 261,000 hours after the storm hit, and spread throughout southeast Louisiana. The outages affected most homes and businesses in coastal parishes closest to where the storm made landfall, as well as their neighbors inland, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us.
Laura Leftwich, who took shelter at her mother’s house outside Morgan City, said gusts of wind blew away two large birdhouses outside. She had a generator that powered an internet connection so she could video chat with friends, holding her computer up to a window to show them the water overflowing onto the street.
If the storm had been more intense, “I wouldn’t have had the courage to look outside,” said Leftwich, 40. “It’s a little scary.”
The National Hurricane Center urged residents to stay indoors overnight as the weakening hurricane heads inland. The storm’s projected path includes New Orleans, where forecasters said the eye of the storm could pass.
The sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Francine drew its energy from the extremely warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, strengthening to a Category 2 storm with winds exceeding 96 mph in the hours before landfall.
Still dangerous, the storm began to weaken as it moved inland. Three hours after landfall, it was still barely a hurricane, with sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h). Francine was moving northeast at a brisk 17 mph (27 km/h) toward New Orleans, about 50 miles (80 km) away.
It is expected to weaken further as it moves north across Mississippi on Thursday, with widespread rain in the coming days causing potential flash flooding in cities including Jackson, Mississippi, Birmingham, Alabama, Memphis, Tennessee, and Atlanta. It has also raised fears of tornadoes.
Much of Louisiana and Mississippi could get 4 to 8 inches of rain, with up to 12 inches possible in some areas, said Brad Reinhart, senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said the National Guard would deploy to parishes affected by Francine, with food, water, nearly 400 emergency vehicles, about 100 boats and 50 helicopters on hand to respond to the storm, including for possible search and rescue operations.
Since the mid-19th century, some 57 hurricanes have passed through or made landfall in Louisiana, according to The Weather Channel. They include some of the strongest, costliest and deadliest storms in U.S. history.
Morgan City, population about 11,500, sits on the banks of the Atchafalaya River in southern Louisiana and is surrounded by lakes and marshes. It is described on the city’s website as “the gateway to the Gulf of Mexico for the shrimping and oilfield industries.”
Luis Morfin, 26, left his RV outside the Morgan City levee to seek shelter at a friend’s house Wednesday night. The wind whipped through the windows as they watched television powered by a generator. The power was out, but they were ready to cook steaks and potatoes on a propane stove.
“We knew what to expect,” Morfin said. “I don’t know how good my RV is, but we’ll find out tomorrow.”
President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency to help Louisiana quickly get federal funding and assistance. Landry and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also declared states of emergency.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said it has distributed more than 100,000 sandbags in the southern part of the state, and the Department of Education reported a number of school district closures for Wednesday and Thursday as the storm passes through the state.
Francine had triggered storm warnings for up to 10 feet of wind along the Louisiana coast from Cameron to Port Fourchon and into Vermilion Bay.
Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Associated Press writers Kevin McGill in New Orleans, Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.
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