Imminent impact of Hurricane Francine prompts Louisiana evacuation orders

Hurricane warnings and evacuation orders were in place on Wednesday morning in parts of Louisiana’s Gulf coast, as communities prepare for Hurricane Francine’s expected landfall later in the day.

Francine became a category 1 hurricane on Tuesday evening, and continued to strengthen overnight, the US National Weather Service said on Wednesday morning.

Hurricane Francine is expected to make landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday afternoon or evening, either as a high-end category one hurricane or a low-end category two hurricane, weather officials said, and is expected to bring “damaging winds, life-threatening storm surge and torrential rain” to the area.

As of Wednesday morning, the hurricane’s maximum sustained winds were at 90mph (145km/h) and the hurricane was expected to pick up speed as it continued to move north-east at 12mph. After landfall, the center is expected to move northward from Louisiana into Mississippi on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said.

While the strongest winds and storm surge are expected to occur in south-central portions of Louisiana, heavy rain and tornado threats are expected to span areas farther east, including in parts of southern Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, weather officials added.

“In total, Francine is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 4 to 8 inches, with local amounts to 12 inches for the central/eastern Gulf coast through Thursday night” the National Weather Service said, adding that the rainfall could lead “to considerable flash and urban flooding”.

A state of emergency has been declared by the governors of Louisiana and Mississippi, and on Tuesday, Joe Biden, the US president, issued an emergency declaration for the state of Louisiana, ordering federal assistance to supplement the state, tribal and local response efforts.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) encouraged residents in the path of the storm on Tuesday to “finish preparations, listen to local officials, and take the necessary safety precautions”.

The National Weather Service in Jackson, Mississippi, said strong winds and heavy rainfall were expected in the area from Wednesday afternoon and into Thursday morning, and the Mississippi emergency management agency added that some areas of the state could see up to 10in of rain.

On Tuesday night, Jon Porter, the chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, the private weather forecasting company, warned that residents in the New Orleans region should “not underestimate the impacts from Francine”.

“AccuWeather hurricane experts are becoming increasingly concerned about the risk for damaging winds in the densely populated New Orleans metropolitan area,” Porter said. “Should Francine pass closer to the city, the storm’s eyewall, the most intense part of the storm can pass near or over parts of the city, which would increase the risk for wind gusts of 80-100mph.”

The National Weather Service in New Orleans advised residents on Wednesday to “make sure you have all preparations rushed to completion ASAP!” and told them to “prepare to hunker down & shelter in place through the overnight hours!”

In parts of Louisiana, schools were closed on Wednesday in anticipation of the hurricane and several parishes, including Lafitte and Barataria, issued mandatory evacuation orders on Tuesday. Shelters and sandbag collection sites were also set up in areas across the Gulf coast.

On Wednesday morning, the New Orleans airport was also beginning to cancel flights ahead of Francine’s landfall.

The governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, is scheduled to give a news conference on the hurricane at 11.30am local time on Wednesday.