Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana in the southern United States on Wednesday evening, bringing violent winds to the coast and bringing rain that raised fears of dangerous flooding.
• Also read: Storm Francine, heading toward Louisiana, becomes a hurricane
“Heavy rain and (strong winds) are moving inland across southern Louisiana,” the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its 10 p.m. bulletin, urging local residents to stay “indoors and away from windows.”
With winds blowing at nearly 155 km/h, Francine was upgraded earlier in the evening to a Category 2 on a scale of 5. Before the hurricane made landfall shortly after 6 p.m., heavy rainfall fell all day along the coast in the Mississippi Sound region.
Louisianan Brian Baiamonte had prepared carefully for the storm, which seemed less dangerous than expected in his area late in the evening.
“It’s raining and the wind is blowing hard, but it’s still pretty mild outside,” he said, reached from Baton Rouge around 8 p.m.
As before every storm, the owner has taken shelter in his restaurant, the Mid City Beer Garden.
“We brought the tables in, turned off the gas, brought inside everything that could fly away with the wind and break windows or hit a car,” said the man who is married to a Quebecer who is an expatriate there. Then, he closed the place until the hurricane passed.
A flooded street in Houma during Hurricane Francine.
Getty Images via AFP
All together
With his employees, however, he decided to keep his bar open, The Radiobar.
“It’s a neighborhood bar, people come on foot. And people like to gather during hurricanes to get through it. It’s less boring,” he explained.
Up to 12 inches of rain was expected in some parts of Louisiana, leading to possible flash flooding. New Orleans, a major city battered by the hurricane Katrina in 2005, was at the edge of the hurricane’s path.
Sandbags
On Wednesday, in the streets of Houma, a small city in the southwest, sandbags were placed at the entrances of buildings to keep water out. Residents also stocked up on gasoline and basic necessities.
Residents filled sandbags with dirt to protect their homes from flooding Wednesday in Houma.
AFP
The state’s National Guard members are on standby with 32 helicopters, 387 vehicles and 87 vessels mobilized to provide assistance. Some 1.1 million liters of water are stored and ready to be distributed if needed, they reported on X.
A flooded street in Dulac, Louisiana.
Getty Images via AFP
Francine should lose power after making landfall. The hurricane should then head north, crossing a part of Louisiana and then Mississippi.
The North Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be particularly rough this year, according to forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, particularly due to warm oceans.
– With AFP
