By Baptist Message staff
MORGAN CITY, La, (LBM) — Hurricane Francine made landfall as a Category 2 storm Wednesday afternoon in Terrebonne Parish, about 30 miles southwest of Morgan City, according to the National Hurricane Center, and weakened to a Category 1 hurricane two hours after it moved inland.
At 4 a.m., Francine was 60 miles north of New Orleans and was headed north toward Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee.
The National Weather Service reported that 4-9 inches had fallen across southeast Louisiana between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday, prompting flash flood warning to be issued in many areas. A storm surge warning was in effect from Grand Isle to the Mississippi-Alabama border.
Recorded wind gusts include 97 mph in Dulac and 105 mph on Eugene Island. More than 388,000 customers in Louisiana were in the dark as of 5:30 a.m. Thursday, according to poweroutage.us.
Early reports of damage to churches included Christ Baptist Church, Houma, which lost some of its roof due to high winds; and Celebration Church, Metairie, St. Rose Community Church, and GracePoint Church, Destrehan, which had some flooding inside their facilities.
“We’re praying for safety for people here in greater New Orleans,” Watson said on a video. “Thank you for those around the nation who are praying with us and praying for us.”
GracePoint Pastor Chris Housewright posted on his Facebook page that the church had a few water spots in its roof. “Please pray for our areas because many have flooded homes and significant damage,” he wrote. “Many are without power.”
WDSU-TV in New Orleans reported a motorist was saved from a fully submerged pickup Wednesday around 8:45 p.m. at the Canal Street Underpass in New Orleans. when a pickup drove around barricades and into extremely dangerous flood waters. Miles Crawford was in the area and broke the truck window to save the man’s life.
The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page that deputies rescued 26 people and most were transported to the emergency shelter at Lockport Community Center.
Jefferson and Orleans parish officials called for residents and businesses to conserve water. According to the Jefferson Parish Facebook page, the conservation notice was due to recent rain events and Hurricane Francine overloading the sewage system.
The Louisiana National Guard posted on its Facebook page that it has 387 high-water vehicles and 87 boats manned and staged if needed. Additionally, the LANG was leading a joint aviation effort of more than 50 aircraft among several agencies.
Francine formed into a tropical storm Monday morning and the following evening was upgraded to a hurricane. This is the first Atlantic storm since Ernesto on Aug. 20.
