The tropical storm Francine – initially classified as a hurricane – is moving inland Thursday in Louisiana, in the southern United States, depriving many residents of electricity and raising fears of severe flooding.
• Also read: IN PICTURES | 155 km/h winds and heavy rain: Hurricane “Francine” hits Louisiana
• Also read: Storm Francine, heading toward Louisiana, becomes a hurricane
Local television stations broadcast images of towns swept by the storm, with some streets flooded and residents protecting their properties with sandbags.
More than 380,000 homes and businesses were without power in Louisiana early this morning, according to the outage tracking website poweroutage.us. Mississippi and Alabama, two nearby states, are also starting to feel the effects of the storm, with more than 75,000 homes and businesses without power.
“Heavy rainfall is spreading across Mississippi, Alabama, and northern Florida,” the National Weather Service (NWS) warned in its 12 p.m. bulletin.
Francine made landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday afternoon (22:00 GMT) as a Category 2 hurricane on a scale of 5, before being downgraded to Category 1, according to the American Hurricane Center (NHC).
Winds of 85 km/h
Hours later, Francine was upgraded to a tropical storm, with winds of 53 mph (85 km/h) causing sea level rise of 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) and torrential rains in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, according to the NHC.
“This rain could lead to significant flash and urban flooding of rivers,” the weather agency warned in its 6 a.m. bulletin.
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This is particularly the case in the metropolitan area of New Orleans, whose mayor has called on residents to stay indoors. This large Louisiana city was particularly badly hit in August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina (one of the deadliest in US history with more than 1,800 deaths).
State of emergency
According to the NHC, the storm is expected to weaken as it moves inland through Louisiana and toward neighboring Mississippi.
In Louisiana, many localities have issued evacuation orders. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in the state on Tuesday, a move that frees up federal funds to help local authorities.
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Schools and universities around Louisiana’s capital, Baton Rouge, have decided to close their doors on Friday.
Residents are preparing
In Houma, a small town southwest of New Orleans, residents were busy preparing for the hurricane. “We want to make sure they have gas for their generators and they have essentials with them,” Alicia B., manager of a gas station that remained open, told AFP.
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In the streets, sandbags have been placed at the entrances to buildings to prevent water from entering.
The state National Guard said it was ready to intervene 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 indicated on X.
The Texas coast and parts of Mississippi are also likely to be affected, but to a lesser extent.
Francinewhich is expected to rapidly lose power, will then head north.
The National Hurricane Center is constantly monitoring the storm, including sending planes into its center.
According to forecasts from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the end of May, the hurricane season in the North Atlantic – which runs from the beginning of June to the end of November – should be particularly turbulent this year, in particular because of the heat of the oceans, which fuels hurricanes.
This season has already been marked by three hurricanes, including Beryl and Debby, which have caused several dozen deaths.
