Louisiana had no storm-related fatalities from Hurricane Francine, governor says

Signage is strewn across an intersection after Hurricane Francine swept through Houma on Sept. 11, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

There have been no storm-related deaths attributed to Hurricane Francine, which hit Louisiana as a Category 2 storm Wednesday, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said at a media briefing Thursday.

“The world knows Louisiana as a loving and resilient and caring people. The human spirit is defined by its resiliency, and resiliency is what defines Louisiana,” Landry said.

Francine’s rains flooded several areas in southeast Louisiana as it moved through the state. Its winds took down trees that are being blamed power outages that affected more 450,000 people at their peak, Brandon Frey, executive secretary of the Louisiana Public Service Commission said. As of midday Thursday, that number had fallen to around 350,000.

State Climatologist Jay Grymes said the storm moved more slowly than anticipated and dropped more rainfall in the New Orleans area than originally forecast, which led to flooding in the metropolitan area.

Officials said the relatively minor impact of Francine could be attributed to the flood mitigation and other resilience measures the state and federal government have invested in.

The Louisiana National Guard launched search and rescue operations Thursday morning but had nothing significant to report as of midday, Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux told reporters. Guard members are now focused on clearing roads and distributing supplies to storm victims, he said.

David Matlock, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, said around 500 people sought shelter from Francine. Their numbers have since dropped to around 300 people, but Matlock said the count is expected to increase Thursday evening as people return from storm recovery efforts.

The governor will be traveling by helicopter to inspect storm damages in Terrebonne Parish, with flyovers in St. Mary and Lafourche parishes en route.

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