Western and central Alabama prep for impacts from Francine

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ( WIAT ) – Many areas in western and central Alabama are bracing for impacts from Francine, which hit the Gulf Coast as a category 2 hurricane.

“The main thing, you know, I guess in our community, of course tornadoes is one, but flooding is another one,” Tuscaloosa County EMA Director Nick Lolley said. “Flooding can be really, really, really dangerous.”

Lolley says the city of Northport saw bad flooding back in 2021, but it has since made improvements to help prevent it from getting that bad again.

“I don’t see that being an issue this time at all to be honest with you,” Lolley said. “Of course, you’re going to have a little here and there, but since that day, Northport city has done a tremendous job in mitigating that issue.”

Seventeen Red Cross volunteers have already been sent to Mississippi in preparation for Francine with 5 more expected to join Thursday, but the Red Cross says it will still have people available to help any places affected here at home.

“We always make sure that we have people left behind here because unfortunately, we still have home fires that we have to respond to,” Red Cross spokesperson Annette Rowland said. “In every community, there’s still going to be a Red Crosser available to make sure that we can quickly meet the needs of our communities.”

Both the Red Cross and Tuscaloosa County EMA say during severe weather, community response is one of the most important lines of first response.

“It’s normally after tornadoes or after floods, hurricanes, any of those, you’re going to open your door and you’re going to be able to see and talk to your neighbors and learn what they’re experiencing before anyone else can,” Rowland said. “If you’re equipped and you’re trained and you’re comfortable to help your neighbor, you’re going to get help to them faster than any organization could. Faster than the Red Cross, faster than the fire department.”

“After 9/11, this community, America, we all came together, and just do that. Do that every day, not just during severe weather but do that every day and we’ll take care of one another,” Lolley said. “You can replace your house, you can replace your car but you cannot replace yourself and your family.”

The Red Cross reminds everyone to have two emergency kits prepared, a larger one that is a ‘stay-at-home’ kit and another which is a smaller ‘go’ kit. Some of the things to have in these kits include prescription medications, necessities for your children, snacks and drinks, and first aid supplies. For more information on what to include in an emergency preparedness kit, visit the Red Cross website at the link HERE .

An outage map for Alabama Power can also be found here, as access to electricity could be cut off amid the storms.

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