As Tropical Depression Francine continues its northward push, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry announced that no storm-related fatalities had been reported as of his 11:30 a.m. CT press conference on Sept. 12.
State climatologist Jay Grymes, meanwhile, said: “Francine has moved out. We’re done with the impacts of that storm.”
Grymes said that winds have dropped to a point where “response is long underway,” and there are “a string of days” ahead that will benefit the continued response and recovery efforts.
At least 100,000 residents had already had their power restored by the time of the press conference.
However, Grymes said that the rainfall in and around New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain was “a little more significant than what we expected.”
Megan Williams, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s New Orleans office, told The Epoch Times that Louisiana received roughly eight to 10 inches of rain within two hours.
New Orleans got more than eight inches of rainfall.
Francine slowed down after making landfall and moved further east toward Lake Pontchartrain, which, Williams said, resulted in more prolonged heavy rain for the south shore of the lake and the New Orleans area.
She said there have already been hundreds of reports of flooded homes, including 185 flooded structures in St. Charles Parish on the west bank of the Mississippi River.
Landry said, “I don’t think anybody went into the storm believing that the infrastructure that pumps the water out of the city of New Orleans was in tip-top shape.”
He said the deficiency that allowed flooding was identified and that the state would work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to address the issues.
More than 450,000 Louisiana residents lost power during Hurricane Francine, a Category 2 hurricane that made landfall at around 5 p.m. on Sept. 11.
Louisiana Public Service Commission custodian of records Brandon Frey pointed out that this number was far lower than that of two previous storms that followed a similar path for Francine. Hurricane Gustav caused 1.3 million outages and Hurricane Isaac caused 900,000.
He said there were “no big transmission losses” at that time and that the bulk of damage found by assessment teams “appeared to be vegetation related,” such as fallen tree limbs.
Authorities reported that storm shelter capacity was down to 311 across 18 shelters, with the maximum occupancy reaching 500. That number is expected to rise tonight.
One state trooper was injured attempting to clear a fallen tree off Interstate 10, but his injuries were minor and he’s at home recovering.
State authorities were joined by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), who told residents that the congressional delegation was united in assisting Louisiana in recovering.
“We'll get the money that we deserve from the federal government to help us,” he said.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell was also present and planned to join Landry in assessing the damaged areas across the state.
“The amount of money invested in resilience has really made a difference, from the power outages to the number of homes saved,” she said.
Both Reeves and Landry declared states of emergency in anticipation of the storm’s arrival.
President Joe Biden approved Landry’s declaration.
As of 1 p.m. CT, Tropical Storm Francine had pushed through Mississippi and begun descending on Memphis, Tennessee, with sustained winds still around 35 mph.
Eric Carpenter, senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Jackson office, told The Epoch Times that the storm bands continue to deliver torrential rain, causing road closures.
“As of now, no injuries have been reported, and approximately 51,000 are without power,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said on X just before 8 a.m. on Sept. 12.
“This is down from a high of approximately 64,000. Over 160 people used shelters last night. Several roads are closed in coastal and central counties due to flooding.
“The state of Mississippi remains in contact with local emergency managers, and damage assessments will begin this morning.”
The National Hurricane Center reported that, as of 10 a.m., all storm surge warnings and coastal watches and warnings had been discontinued.
Tropical Depression Francine is expected to cross the Mississippi River into Arkansas, and the forecast track puts it on the Missouri border by Sept. 13.
