Thousands of homes without electricity in the southern United States

Tropical Storm Francine – initially classified as a hurricane – is moving inland in the southern United States on Thursday, September 12, leaving many residents without electricity and raising fears of severe flooding.

Local television stations broadcast images of towns swept by the storm, with some streets flooded and residents protecting their properties with sandbags.

More than 380,000 homes and businesses were without power in Louisiana early this morning, according to the outage tracking website poweroutage.us. Mississippi and Alabama, two nearby states, are also starting to feel the effects of the storm, with more than 75,000 homes and businesses without power.

“Heavy rainfall spreads across Mississippi, Alabama, and northern Florida”warned the National Weather Service (NWS) in its 2 p.m. (Paris time) bulletin. However, according to the American Hurricane Center (NHC), the storm is expected to weaken as it moves inland.

Francine made landfall Wednesday afternoon (midnight in Paris) in Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane on a scale of 5, before being downgraded to Category 1, according to the NHC. A few hours later, Francine was classified as a tropical storm, with winds of 85 km/h, causing a rise of one to two meters in sea level and torrential rains in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

The New Orleans metropolitan area was particularly exposed and the mayor had called on residents to stay indoors. This large Louisiana city had been particularly badly damaged in August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest in US history with more than 1,800 deaths.

State of emergency declared in Louisiana

In Louisiana, many communities have issued evacuation orders. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in the state on Tuesday, a move that frees up federal funds to help local authorities. Schools and universities around the Louisiana capital, Baton Rouge, closed Friday.

In Houma, a small town southwest of New Orleans, residents were busy preparing for the hurricane’s arrival. “We want to make sure they have fuel for their generators and that they have basic necessities with them.”Alicia B., manager of a gas station that remained open, told Agence France-Presse. In the streets, sandbags have been placed at the entrances to buildings to prevent water from entering.

The state’s National Guard said it was ready to intervene with 32 helicopters, 387 vehicles and 87 ships mobilized to provide assistance. Some 1.1 million liters of water are stored and ready to be distributed if needed, they specified on X.

The National Hurricane Center is constantly monitoring the storm, including sending planes into its center.

According to forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the end of May, the hurricane season in the North Atlantic – which runs from early June to late November – is expected to be particularly turbulent this year, particularly because of the heat of the oceans, which fuels hurricanes. This season has already been marked by three hurricanes, including Beryl and Debby, which have caused several dozen deaths.