Thousands in the dark as Hurricane Francine strikes Louisiana, raising flood fears

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Hurricane Francine struck Louisiana on Wednesday evening as a Category 2 storm that forecasters warned could bring deadly storm surge, widespread flooding and destructive winds on the northern U.S. Gulf Coast.

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Hurricane Francine barreled toward Louisiana on Wednesday as residents made last-minute trips to stock up on supplies and forecasters warned of potentially deadly storm surge, widespread flooding and destructive winds on the northern U.S. Gulf coast.

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The entrance to Lake Ponchartrain Causeway is closed due to Hurricane Francine in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. The causeway is the longest continuous bridge over water in the world. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

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Having never before experienced the powerful forces of a hurricane, meteorologist Max Claypool of Memphis, Tenn. tries to see if the powerful winds blowing from the Hurricane Francine eye wall could lift him further in the air on Wednesday, Sept.11, 2024, Houma, La. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Sparse traffic moves along Interstate 10, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, near Frenier Landing, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 4:01 p.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Francine as it approaches landfall over Louisiana, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (NOAA via AP)

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Seth Tartaglia and his dog Magnolia Jane check out the waves and winds in Frenier Landing, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Dulac residents, top left, sit on their front porch as they watch water rise around their elevated home as the effects of Hurricane Francine are felt along the Louisiana coast on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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A customer enters a gas station that is boarded up in anticipation of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Conrad Bach drains water from his boot after getting doused while looking at waves from the wind from Hurricane Francine along Lakeshore Drive and Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

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Cameron Henry, left, Owen Henry, and Stone Ridgeway, watch as Orleans Levee District Police patrol as rain and wind builds up from Hurricane Francine on Lakeshore Drive along Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

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Pat Simon, a resident of Morgan City, stops at a gas station after loading up a rental truck with possessions from his home, as he evacuates to a hotel in anticipation of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Hurricane Francine floodwater rises around a statue of Mary tied to the support of an elevated home in Terrebonne Parish as the hurricane begins to make landfall along the Louisiana coast on Wednesday, Sept.11, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Kevin “Choupie” Badle, 67, rides his bike with an umbrella to buy more cigarettes at the store ahead of Hurricane Francine, expected to make landfall this evening, in Stephenville, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Jason Bledsoe hauls rope to a houseboat in preparation of moving it to a safer dock, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Bayou Gauche, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Oscar Torres, of Morgan City, enters a gas station that is boarded up in anticipation of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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A customer buys water at a mostly boarded up Birdies Food and Fuel, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Luling, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Lindsey Ranney and her dog Fig fill the trunk of Ranney’s car with sandbags in preparation for Hurricane Francine from a pile of sand provided by Harrison County at the end of Courthouse Boulevard in Gulfport, Miss. on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Hannah Ruhoff/The Sun Herald via AP)

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Rainwater accumulates around Nolan and Macie Melancon as they fill up sandbags for their home located a few miles away in Houma, La., as the region gets ready for the arrival of Hurricane Francine on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Chris Granger /The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., as the state of Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Francine’s arrival. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)

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FEMA Region 6 Administrator Tony Robinson speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., as the state of Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Francine’s arrival. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)

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Hotels guests at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites stand in a protected entryway as they take video of the powerful forces coming from the Hurricane Francine eye wall as it moves across the south on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Houma, La. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Hotels guests at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites step out to look at some of the damage, top center, to the hotel as the eye of Hurricane Francine moves over the area causing a short respite in the rain, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in in Houma, La. (Chris Grange/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Melanie Galindo’s hair flies in the swirl of fast-moving air as the eye wall of Hurricane Francine crosses into the Houma area in Louisiana on Wednesday, September 11, 2024. (Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune via AP)

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Lazaro Cardoso, 11, leans far into the powerful winds coming from the eye wall of Hurricane Francine as he and his dad, Hugo Gonzales, stay at a hotel in Houma, Louisiana that was being powered by a generator on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Houma, La. The family lives not far from the hotel but they decided to stay at it since they said they always lose power during powerful storms. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Lazaro Cardoso, 11, leans far into the powerful winds coming from the eye wall of Hurricane Francine as he and his dad, Hugo Gonzales, stay at a hotel Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Houma, La., that was being powered by a generator. The family lives not far from the hotel but they decided to stay at it since they said they always lose power during powerful storms. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Signage bends in the wind as Hurricane Francine passes through Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Delwyn Bodden, a worker for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West climbs a ladder up a floodgate to lock it closed along the Harvey Canal, just outside the New Orleans city limits, in anticipation of Tropical Storm Francine, in Harvey, La., Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Conrad Bach gets doused with lake water while looking at waves from the wind and rain from Hurricane Francine along Lakeshore Drive along Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

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Cameron Henry looks at the water build up from Hurricane Francine in front of the levee protection, background, along Lakeshore Drive along Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

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Orleans Levee District Police patrol Lakeshore Drive along Lake Ponchartrain as wind and rain pick up from Hurricane Francine in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

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Orleans Levee District Police patrol Lakeshore Drive along Lake Ponchartrain as wind and rain pick up from Hurricane Francine in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

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An air mattress blows in wind from Hurricane Francine in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

By SARA CLINE and JACK BROOK

MORGAN CITY, La. (AP) — Hurricane Francine slammed into the Louisiana coast Wednesday evening as a dangerous Category 2 storm that knocked out electricity to more than a quarter-million customers and threatened widespread flooding as it sent a potentially deadly storm surge rushing inland along the Gulf Coast.

Tropical Weather-hurricane warnings

Brad Reinhart, senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, says Francine is expected to strengthen over the next day.

Francine crashed ashore in Terrebonne Parish, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Morgan City, the National Hurricane Center announced at 4 p.m. CDT. Packing top sustained winds near 100 mph (155 kph), the hurricane then battered a fragile coastal region that hasn’t fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021.

Morgan City Fire Chief Alvin Cockerham said the hurricane quickly flooded streets, snapped power lines and sent tree limbs crashing down.

“It’s a little bit worse than what I expected to be honest with you,” Cockerham said of the onslaught. “I pulled all my trucks back to the station. It’s too dangerous to be out there in this.”

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.

TV news broadcasts from coastal communities showed waves from nearby lakes, rivers and Gulf waters thrashing sea walls. Water poured into city streets amid blinding downpours. Oak and cypress trees leaned in the high winds, and some utility poles swayed back and forth. As Francine continued its trek inland, it spread drenching rains over New Orleans and surrounding areas, raising flooding fears.

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Power outages in Louisiana topped 261,000 hours after landfall, spread widely across southeast Louisiana. Blackouts affected the majority of homes and businesses in coastal parishes nearest where the storm came ashore as well as their inland neighbors, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us.

Sheltering at her mother’s home just outside Morgan City, Laura Leftwich said blasts of wind had swept away two large birdhouses outside. She had a generator powering an internet connection so she could video chat with friends, holding her computer to a window to show them water overflowing in the street.

If the storm had been any more intense, “I wouldn’t have the guts to look outside,” said Leftwich, 40. “It’s a little scary.”

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At a news conference, Texas Governor Greg Abbott says he’s expecting Centerpoint Energy in Houston to respond promptly to incoming tropical weather. COURTESY: KVUE ((mandatory on-air credit))

Tropical Weather-reaches LA Wednesday

Brad Reinhart, senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, says right now, Francine is a tropical storm, moving slowly to the north northwest.

Tropical Weather-power outages TX

At a news conference, Chief Nim Kidd with Texas Division of Emergency Management says people in Texas should prepare for power outages ahead of tropical weather. COURTESY: KVUE ((mandatory on-air credit))

The National Hurricane Center urged residents to stay sheltered overnight as the weakening hurricane churned inland. The storm’s projected path included New Orleans, where forecasters said the storm’s eye could pass through.

The sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters, strengthening to a Category 2 storm with winds exceeding 96 mph (155 kph) hours in the hours before landfall.

Still dangerous, the storm began weakening as it rushed inland. Three hours after landfall it barely remained a hurricane, with top sustained winds down to 75 mph (120 kph. Francine was moving northeast at a fast clip of 17 mph (28 kph) on a path toward New Orleans, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) away.

It was forecast to weaken further while pushing northward through Mississippi on Thursday, with widespread rains in the coming days bringing potential flash flooding to cities including Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta. It also raised the threat of spin-off tornadoes.

Much of Louisiana and Mississippi could get 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of rain, with the possibility of 12 inches (30 centimeters) in some spots, said Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said the National Guard would fan out to parishes impacted by Francine. They have food, water, nearly 400 high-water vehicles, about 100 boats and 50 helicopters to respond to the storm, including for possible search-and-rescue operations.

Since the mid-19th century, some 57 hurricanes have tracked over or made landfall in Louisiana, according to The Weather Channel. Among them are some of the strongest, costliest and deadliest storms in U.S. history.

Tropical Weather-heavy rain

Brad Reinhart, senior hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center in Miami, says people along the coast should watch for storm surge.

Morgan City, home to around 11,500 people, sits on the banks of the Atchafalaya River in south Louisiana and is surrounded by lakes and marsh. It’s described on the city’s website as “gateway to the Gulf of Mexico for the shrimping and oilfield industries.”

Luis Morfin, 26, left his RV camper outside Morgan City’s levee to hunker down at a friend’s home Wednesday night. Winds lashed the windows as they watched a TV powered by a generator. The power was out, but they were prepared to cook with steaks and potatoes on a propane stove.

“We knew what we were expecting,” Morfin said. “I don’t know how good my camper is, but we’ll figure that out tomorrow.”

President Joe Biden granted an emergency declaration to help Louisiana secure expedited federal money and assistance. Landry and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also declared states of emergency.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said it distributed more than 100,000 sandbags to the southern part of the state and the Department of Education reported a number of school district closures for Wednesday and Thursday amid expectations the storm would cross the state.

Francine had prompted storm surge warnings on the Louisiana coast of as much as 10 feet (3 meters) from Cameron to Port Fourchon and into Vermilion Bay.

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Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Associated Press writers Kevin McGill in New Orleans, Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this story.