Hurricane Francine strikes Louisiana coast
Hurricane Francine slammed into the Louisiana coast, US, on September 12 as a dangerous Category 2 storm that knocked out electricity to more than a quarter-million customers, with potential for life-threatening flooding and storm surge as residents of the southern US state were advised to hunker down indoors. (Photo/Agencies)
Francine hits fragile coastline
Francine crashed ashore in Terrebonne Parish, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Morgan City, the National Hurricane Center announced at 4 pm CDT (2:30 am IST). Packing top sustained winds near 100 mph (155 kph), the hurricane then battered a fragile coastal region that hasn’t fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021. (Photo/Agencies)
Hurricane brings heavy rain
Visuals showed waves from nearby lakes, rivers and Gulf waters thrashing sea walls. Water poured into city streets amid blinding downpours. Oak and cypress trees leaned in the high winds, and some utility poles swayed back and forth. As Francine continued its trek inland, it spread drenching rains over New Orleans and surrounding areas, raising flooding fears. (Photo/Agencies)
Power outages soar
Power outages in Louisiana topped 261,000 hours after landfall, spread widely across southeast Louisiana. Blackouts affected the majority of homes and businesses in coastal parishes nearest where the storm came ashore as well as their inland neighbors, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us. (Photo/Agencies)
Francine strengthens over warm Mexico Gulf waters
The sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters, strengthening to a Category 2 storm with winds exceeding 96 mph (155 kph) hours in the hours before landfall. (Photo/Agencies)
Hurricane weakens, heads toward New Orleans
Still dangerous, the storm began weakening as it rushed inland. Three hours after landfall it barely remained a hurricane, with top sustained winds down to 75 mph (120 kph. Francine was moving northeast at a fast clip of 17 mph (28 kph) on a path toward New Orleans, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) away. (Photo/Agencies)
Francine threatens flooding
It was forecast to weaken further while pushing northward through Mississippi, with widespread rains in the coming days bringing potential flash flooding to cities including Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta. It also raised the threat of spin-off tornadoes. (Photo/Agencies)
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