Mandatory evacuations are underway as Louisiana prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Francine by Wednesday evening.
“All of south-central and southeastern Louisiana [are] under the gun with this storm,” meteorologist Jay Grymes said during a press briefing earlier that day.
Residents still had the rest of the day to prepare, he said, but landfall was expected around mid-afternoon or early evening on Wednesday, and tropical storm or hurricane-force conditions are going to be felt all across the I-10 and I-12 corridor.
The NHC said in its 7 p.m. CT advisory that the storm’s maximum sustained winds had increased to nearly 75 miles per hour, with higher gusts. Additional strengthening was expected through Wednesday morning, followed by quick weakening as the storm moves inland.
Hurricane-force winds will extend outward up to 30 miles east of the center, and tropical storm-force winds will extend outward up to 140 miles from the center, according to the NHC.
The forecasted track continues to shift eastward, and landfall is projected to be east of Vermilion Bay. A meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Lake Charles office told The Epoch Times that the storm could come close to the Baton Rouge area.
Francine is expected to be a strong Category One hurricane upon landfall, with maximum sustained winds reaching 90 mph.
Some level of storm surge caused by Francine is expected along the Gulf Coast from the Mouth of the Rio Grande (one to three feet) to the Alabama-Florida border (two to four feet).
Five to 10 feet is expected along the Louisiana coastline between the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and Port Fourchon, including Vermilion Bay. Four to seven feet is expected eastward from Port Fourchon to the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Heavy rainfall in the amount of four to eight inches, with isolated areas of 12 inches, is still expected, and along with it, the risk of flash and urban flooding.
Hurricane warnings extend from Sabine Pass to the east of Grand Isle. Tropical storm warnings extend further along the coast to the Mississippi border and inland to include New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. Tropical Storm watches are in effect from Mississippi to the Alabama-Florida border.
Several parishes in Louisiana have already issued mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders for residents in vulnerable areas.
All watches and warnings for the Texas coast between the mouth of the Rio Grande and Matagorda have been lifted.
Louisiana’s Gov. Jeff Landry has activated emergency response resources. The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness went into a 24-hour emergency response mode on Tuesday, and thousands of linemen have been pre-staged to restore power.
Adjunct General of Louisiana, Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Friloux told reporters that National Guardsmen were being deployed across Louisiana with 87 boats, 387 high-water vehicles, and more than 50 helicopters at their disposal. Search and rescue, he said, was the most likely post-storm mission they would have to undertake.
The National Guard is also packing emergency resources, including more than one million meals and 1.1 million gallons of water.
