John Jefferson
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Hurricane Francine strengthened into a hurricane on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, the storm is expected to hit Louisiana after shifting east from the National Hurricane Center’s initial projections. The agency said Francine was expected to bring life-threatening storm surge and strong winds.
The storm has sent New Orleans residents scrambling, and the city stopped trash and recycling collection. City Hall was closed in response to the storm. Democratic Mayor LaToya Cantrell urged residents to prepare to hunker down.
Flights at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, and Lafayette Regional Airport were canceled.
On Wednesday morning, the hurricane was swirling about 195 miles southwest of Morgan City. Louisiana, with maximum sustained winds near 90 miles per hour, with some higher gusts.
Additional strengthening is possible this morning, although Francine is anticipated to weaken over land.
The storm brings multiple other hazards, including flash and urban flooding. It is expected to dump as much as a foot of rain across southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi, far southern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle through Thursday night.
Louisiana’s Cleco Power said it had secured 1,700 additional contractor resources to respond to the storm,
Louisiana’s Cleco Power, a utility that serves multiple parishes in the state, said it was monitoring and preparing for Hurricane Francine, as well.
In a statement, Cleco Power said it had secured 1,700 additional contractor resources to respond to the storm, including line mechanics and vegetation specialists.
“We will continue to look at the intensity and path of the storm to adjust the number of workers needed to safely and efficiently clear debris, repair system damage and restore power to our customers,” said Clint Robichaux, director of distribution operations and reliability.
“Now is the time to prepare, especially our customers in south Louisiana.”
Residents are advised to keep flashlights and battery-powered radios handy, along with charged cell phones and other devices. In addition, Cleco Power says all downed power lines should be assumed to be live.
Storm surge could bring floodwaters to heights up to 10 feet in some areas. If water is rising, residents are instructed to turn off electricity at the breaker, evacuate, and stay away until waters have completely receded.
Julia Musto11 September 2024 15:16
Louisiana utility prepares for storm-related outages as thousands already without power
Utility Louisiana Energy said it is taking proactive steps to trimming trees and limbs away from critical power lines.
“We’ve also requested the help of additional tree trimmers to ensure restoration efforts move quickly and as safely as possible,” they said in a tweet.
Outage tracker PowerOutage.US showed there were already more than 8,200 customers without power on Wednesday morning.
Julia Musto11 September 2024 15:04
Hurricane Francine takes aim at Louisiana
Hurricane Francine strengthened into a Category 1 storm on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, the storm had maximum sustained winds near 90 miles per hour.
Additional strengthening is possible this morning, although Francine is anticipated to weaken over land.
The storm will make landfall later in the afternoon or evening.
Julia Musto11 September 2024 14:51
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