NEW ORLEANS, Sept 11 (Askume) – Hurricane Francine slammed into Louisiana’s southern coast on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to New Orleans while threatening a potentially deadly storm surge across the broader Gulf Coast that has claimed thousands of lives.
The US National Hurricane Center said Francine had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) as the storm’s center passed over southern Louisiana, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west-southwest of New Orleans.
The hurricane center upgraded the Saffir–Simpson Category 5 hurricane from a Category 1 to a Category 2 before the storm made landfall. Even the extremely dangerous winds of a Category 1 hurricane are capable of causing damage, and hurricane warnings were issued for the entire Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi, which the hurricane center described as life-threatening.
More than 200,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana are without power, according to PowerOutage.US.
New Orleans’ iconic French Quarter neighborhood, known for its tourist bars and restaurants, has a heavy police presence and few pedestrians.
On Bourbon Street, Gina Kralek said she was working at the Clover Grill, replacing two co-workers who left before the storm.
“Normally I vacuum the house, but I have three dogs,” Klarek said. “Not everybody wants to take me with the dog.”
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and US President Joe Biden have declared a state of emergency to provide emergency management resources in response to the storm and possible financial assistance if severe damage occurs.
Financial research firm Moody’s Ratings said more than 78,000 commercial properties worth $143 billion were in the storm’s direct path. Buildings had a more than 50 percent chance of being hit by winds of at least 50 mph (80 kph), causing some damage, Moody’s said.
Several parishes or counties on or near Louisiana’s Gulf Coast have issued mandatory evacuation orders, and the state Department of Transportation has released evacuation maps. The city of New Orleans distributed sandbags at five locations.
Any major storm near Louisiana would be reminiscent of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and the surrounding area, killing an estimated 1,400 people and causing $125 billion in damage by 2023, the hurricane center reported .
Water from Lake Pontchartrain crashes against the seawall at the city’s northern edge. However, the federal government’s $14.5 billion levee protection system built since Katrina, including storm gates that prevented storm surges from backing into inner city levees, caused catastrophic flooding during Katrina but failed completely.
Grocery stores were closed by late afternoon, but that was before people stranded by earlier storms were able to buy groceries.
“We’re well prepared. We have canned goods. We have supplies,” Steve Rodriguez said. Buy some extras.
The hurricane resulted in disruption of American energy production and agricultural exports in the Gulf of Mexico.
About 39% of oil production and nearly half of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf region remained shut on Wednesday, according to offshore regulators. A total of 171 production platforms and three drilling platforms were evacuated.
