Thursday updates: Checking in on bridges & beaches, and firefighters that wrangled a gator

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Hurricane Francine dragged across the Gulf South overnight with strong winds that gushed storm surge, crumpled roofs and turned roads into rivers from the southeastern Louisiana coast to New Orleans. As it weakened to a tropical storm, Francine spared the Mississippi Coast of its worst but flooded roads and low-lying areas, and brought strong winds that blew before sunrise Thursday morning.

Francine became a tropical storm as it tracked across central and northern Mississippi on Thursday, and flooding, power outages and other impacts were still felt in South Mississippi Thursday.

3:10 p.m.: Traffic stalled at drawbridges

MDOT reports road congestion on I-110 in D’Iberville and Biloxi as the drawbridge opens to let marine traffic through.

Drivers report they also are waiting while other drawbridges on the Coast open frequently for the boats that moved inland during Hurricane Francine.

2:30 p.m.: Francine by the numbers in Harrison

Harrison County Emergency Management Agency held its post-Francine meeting, reviewing damage and cleanup from Hurricane Francine.

Some of the numbers from the storm:

• 5.6 feet was apparently the highest surge recorded, at Bay-Waveland Yacht Club, with 5.1 feet being the highest in Harrison County, at Point Cadet in East Biloxi.
• 7.9 feet was the highest water line recorded in Harrison County, at the Biloxi Lighthouse near downtown.
• 4-6 inches of rainfall was recorded across the county, with 6 inches being the highest total found.
• 76 was the maximum number of roads closed in the cities and county, with 64 of those in Pass Christian; 21 roads in Pass Christian remained closed around noon Thursday.
• 15 trees were down around the county.

Also of note: The Bayou Portage Bridge on Henderson Avenue in Pass Christian is closed to vehicles, but repairs will be attempted Friday. County sand bag locations are closed but still have self-serve sand available.

1:40 p.m.: Gator wrangling during Francine

First responders are asked to do all types of rescues during tropical weather. Pass Christian firefighters found themselves on gator patrol as Hurricane Francine stirred up the waves and the wildlife Wednesday night into Thursday.

Here’s what happened.

1:15 p.m.: Crews cleaning the beaches

Harrison County beaches remain closed until further notice for clean-up. Harrison County Supervisors said the sand beach crews are working diligently to restore the beaches the day after Hurricane Francine.

Noon: Bridge updates

Popp’s Ferry Bridge is open to marine and vehicular traffic, Biloxi announces.

Cedar Lake bridge was closed for flooding but now is open.

Bayou Portage Bridge in Harrison County will have limited openings Thursday at noon and 5 p.m., exclusively for boats. The bridge remains closed to vehicle traffic because of an electrical malfunction that requires repairs. For information call 228-896-0204

10:35 a.m.: Coast “very blessed”

Hancock County’s emergency teams have no reports of home damage from Hurricane Francine, said Emergency Manager Brian “Hooty” Adam. The worst of the county’s flooding is in Shoreline Park, and Adam said companies are working to restore electricity to more than 1,300 residents still without power.

Emergency officials will enter flooded areas as soon as they can to check for damages, Adam said, but the county seemed to avoid the worst. “The water is receding,” he said. “We’re very blessed.”

9:15 a.m.: Spared from serious flooding

The Jourdan River Shores community in Kiln has flooded badly in past hurricanes . But the few residents out Thursday morning cleaning their driveways and garages said the neighborhood fared far better in Hurricane Francine. Neighbors said streets flooded up to Highway 603 overnight, but by Thursday the water was draining and residents were retrieving cars they had parked on high ground.

8:35 a.m.: Casino reopens

Silver Slipper Casino in Hancock County will be totally open Thursday. It was partially closed during Hurricane Francine, when water covered the road.

“We’ve gotten word that Beach Blvd. down by the casino is clear so Silver Slipper will be fully operational today,” the casino posted on Facebook. “Everything will be open on normal schedule.”

U.S. 90 appears to be open now across the Coast, including near Rodenberg in Biloxi, that was flooded earlier. MDOT reports there is still flooding in Hancock County on MS 604 at Whipple Road.

8:30 a.m.: Surveying Francine’s damage

Harrison County — Fire Chief Pat Sullivan said Thursday morning that crews had cleared downed trees on roads overnight as Francine made her way through the area.

”We are grabbing them as we see them,” he said. “Our primary concern is whatever was covering county roads.” Most of the areas that had trees down have already been taken care of,” he said.”We are still in the middle of doing damage assessments,” he said.

Hancock County — Emergency Manager Brian “Hooty” Adam said Thursday morning the county’s biggest problems were flooding and power outages. The water is going down, he said, but many neighborhoods are flooded in. Emergency crews had not been called for any boat rescues as of 8:30 a.m.

Jackson County Office of Emergency Services says minor damage occurred across the county, with reports of power outages, trees down and flooded streets.

EOC director Earl Etheridge said they received reports of about 30 to 40 downed trees across the county. ”We’ve got about 30 roads that either have water on them or trees across them. They are close to low-lying areas, in St. Martin where storm water backed up from Biloxi’s Back Bay.

”So far, Etheridge said, they have received no reports of home damage but said that could change because “people are just getting out and looking.” (edited)

Moss Point has flooding at River Road/Jefferson Street and. Pascagoula has flooding at Point Park.

10:20 a.m.: Powering up the Coast

Crews are out restoring power to customers in South Mississippi left in the dark by Hurricane Francine.

Coast Electric reports 6,085 customers without power in Pearl River County, 1,108 in Hancock County and 100 in Harrison County.

Mississippi Power has 1,827 outages, most of them north of the Coast as Tropical Storm Francine batters the Jackson area.

Singing River Electric has 16 customers without power in Jackson County, 13 of them on River Road in Vancleave.

For those who don’t have power to cook, Rouses Market says all stores have reopened and the hot bars are stocked.

8 a.m.: TD Francine

Hurricane Francine has been downgraded to a Tropical Depression Francine as it moves north and drops heavy rain on Jackson and central Mississippi.

South Mississippi and Louisiana are dealing with flooding and other issues. See the scenes of the recovery.

7:20 a.m.: Flights resume and stores reopen

The early flights were canceled or delayed at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport Thursday morning, but most service is now returning to normal.

The Walmart stores in Gulfport and west in South Mississippi that closed Wednesday afternoon have all reopened, except for Picayune.

6:45 a.m.: Curfews expire

Curfews have expired in Gulfport, Waveland and Bay St. Louis. Officials are still warning drivers to stay off the roads because of flooding.

6:40 a.m.: Storm surge levels

Water levels in Bay St. Louis measured about 4.5 feet above normal during what appeared to be peak storm surge at 2 a.m., according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tide gauge at the Bay-Waveland Yacht Club .

Water appeared to recede Thursday morning, and the gauge measured 2 feet above normal around 6:30 a.m.

Water levels at a tide gauge in Pascagoula measured about 2.5 feet above normal early Thursday morning.

Forecasters earlier estimated surge could reach 4 to 6 feet in Hancock and Harrison counties, and 3 to 5 feet in Jackson County.

6:35 a.m.: Flooded streets

Mississippi Department of Transportation reports street flooding on MS 604 at Whipple Road in Hancock County and on U.S. 90 between Rodenburg and Acacia avenues.

Hancock County officials report more than 365 streets flooded, and there are reports of flooded streets in D’Iberville and other areas that typically flood during hurricanes.

Traffic lights aren’t working in Biloxi at Bohn and Division streets and are in flashing mode at Cedar Lake and Medical Park drive.

6:15 a.m.: Thousands without power

The rain is mostly over in South Mississippi and gusty winds continue. making it more challenging to drive on the interstate and prolonging the risk of downed trees and power outages.

Thousands of customers have no power across the Coast this morning.

▪ Coast Electric reports 13,441 customers without power or 15% of its total customers, including 7,422 in Pearl River County, 3,702 in Harrison County and 2317 in Hancock County.

▪ Mississippi Power reports 190 outages affecting 3,618 customers

▪ Singing River Electric power outage map shows 1,889 customers without power, 900 of them around Chico Road North in Pascagoula and 1,500 outages in Jackson County.