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MORGAN CITY, LA. (mocsnews.com)- Hurricane Francine made landfall on September 11, 2024 as a Category 2 hurricane, when it hit Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, which is just south of Morgan City.
According to The Weather Channel, Hurricane Francine landed with varying wind speeds from 78 to 109 mph. Parts of southern Louisiana faced storm surges up to four feet. The New Orleans metropolitan area was put under a flash flood emergency and certain areas topped eight inches.
About 30 miles from where Francine made landfall, residents in Morgan City joined together to pick up debris after the storm moved inland. Branches damaged roofs and vehicles, and many homes face flood damage.
Firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
In New Orleans, a pickup truck was trapped by rushing water in an underpass. The driver was still trapped inside until a local hero came to their rescue. Nurse Miles Crawford waded into waist-high water with a hammer and pulled the driver out of the truck after smashing a window.
“It’s just second nature I guess, being a nurse, you just go in and get it done, right?” Crawford told The Associated Press in an interview. “I just had to get him out of there.”
“The most important thing we can do is get our utilities back up and online. We had … almost 500,000 people without power last night. That has drastically been improved, probably about by a 50% margin,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said on September 12, 2024. “Power is the most important thing that we need right now.”
According to NBC News, twelve million people are under flash flood warnings. As of September 12, 2024 there were also around 318,000 people without power in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.
According to the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, Francine weakened into a tropical storm and then a tropical depression on the morning of Thursday September 12. Tornado watches were issued to surrounding areas in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle.
Picture taken by Tyler Hosch
As Francine moved inland, it centered over central Mississippi, lashing middle Tennessee with mild winds and three to five inches of rain.
