Millions will be inundated as Hurricane Francine moves inland and loses strength

Tornado warnings were still in force, and hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses were without electricity as local officials assessed the damage.

 

A flood warning was in effect for up to 14 million people on Thursday, spanning from the Florida Panhandle to New Orleans and up as far north as Memphis, Tennessee, following Hurricane Francine's landfall in Louisiana. The storm left a path of flooding throughout the middle part of the country.

The National Hurricane Center issued a warning that major Southern cities like Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, and even Atlanta could experience sporadic flash flooding due to the weakening but still powerful storm, which was expected to drop up to 10 inches of rain on parts of Florida and Alabama.

MS Gov. Tate Reeves wrote on his X social media account, "Heavy rain is expected to continue through at least this afternoon, so please continue to stay weather aware."

Meanwhile, officials in New Orleans asked citizens to conserve drinking water, while Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry was inspecting the most severely affected regions of his state. No early reports of fatalities or injuries were made. However, through Thursday afternoon, there were also tornado watches in place throughout Alabama and northern Florida. In the meanwhile, over 50,000 people in the area lost power, and local authorities started evaluating the damage.

Much of New Orleans was devoid of electricity, with roadways obstructed by fallen oak and cypress trees and debris, and the sound of portable generators dominating the landscape. Amidst the chaos, tales started to surface about common people going above and beyond to protect their neighbors.

WDSU, the NBC station in New Orleans, reported that on Wednesday night, a good samaritan named Miles Crawford broke through a window to save a motorist from a totally submerged pickup truck that was engulfed in floodwaters beneath the Canal Street underpass.

Crawford claimed he was prompted to intervene when Jonah Gilmore, a WDSU reporter covering the scene in real time, noticed the submerged truck and alerted a passing police officer.

"I have to save lives because I'm a nurse, right?" Crawford informed The Associated Press that he is employed at the University Medical Center.

With winds of up to 100 mph, Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, rocking a vulnerable coastal region that is still recovering from a string of catastrophic storms in 2020 and 2021.

Francine moved quickly, knocking off hundreds of structures' roofs as she pounded the impoverished metropolis of New Orleans with heavy rainfall. The low-lying city was rapidly inundated; New Orleans International Airport recorded 7.33 inches of rain.

Roughly one hundred houses in the Kenner area of New Orleans were inundated by rainfall. While local roadways in neighboring Metairie become impassable waterways due to flooding.

President of Jefferson Parish Cynthia Lee Sheng stated on X during the storm, "This is not the time to be out on the roads." "All residents are urged to stay home."

According to local officials, 26 persons who were stranded by rising floods in southern Louisiana's Lafourche Parish were saved.

Post Tag- Hurricane, entergy, USA