Francine’s Devastation and Destruction: Were We Prepared? 

Francine's Devastation and Destruction: Were We Prepared? Credit | AP
Francine's Devastation and Destruction: Were We Prepared? Credit | AP

United States: As it became a post-tropical cyclone, Francine occurred on Thursday afternoon while moving north across the Mississippi and causing heavy rains in its neighboring regions after hitting the coast of Louisiana Wednesday evening with a Category 2 hurricane. 

By the early evening, it was tracking over central Mississippi. 

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When the system advanced ashore, crews started working to clear most of the roads and restore the affected power lines as the local communities and businesses moved to pick up the debris. 

The statements made by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said there were no reports of deaths or injuries at first. 

According to Landry, as stated in a news conference on Thursday, “The human spirit is defined by its resiliency, and resiliency is what defines Louisiana,” CBS News reported. 

“Certainly, there are times and situations that try us, but it is also when we in this state are at our very best,” he added. 

Occurrence of Francine in detail 

Earlier, the state administration reported that there were about 500 people in emergency shelters. 

According to Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, “The amount of money invested in resilience has really made a difference, from the power outages to the number of homes saved,” CBS News reported. 

New Orleans was overflooded with 7.33 inches of rain Wednesday, which was about three times the amount of rain. 2.33 inches of rain on average was received in September, according to the National Weather Service

Damages done by accompanied storm 

The storm left hundreds of thousands of residents without power and posed a danger of floods as the storm sent a potentially deadly surge inland along the Gulf Coast. 

As Francine progressed across the coastal region, the hurricane status declined rapidly, and a tropical storm was redesigned earlier Thursday night, CBS News reported. 

Latest figures from PowerOutage.us indicate that more than 149k customers were without electricity across Louisiana late Thursday night. The official report added that the figures touched over 450K, according to the Public Service Commission. 

As it continued to weaken on Thursday, the maximum sustained winds of Francine reduced to 30 mph at 11 p.m. EDT, as stated by the National Hurricane Center. 

It was located around fifty miles west of Memphis, Tennessee, and was moving northward at six miles per hour, although it was predicted that the storm would turn northwest and slow down. It was expected to weaken on Friday. 

The National Hurricane Center said Francine would continue posing a threat to bring heavy rain and tornadoes to the parts of the Mississippi Delta, Alabama, west Georgia, and Florida panhandle. 

The hurricane center added, “Little change in strength is forecast during the next 24 hours.”