New Orleans dries out after Hurricane Francine

Tony M., who identified himself as a friend of the owner, vacuums water from the Steak Knife Restaurant on Harrison Avenue in New Orleans, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, the morning after Hurricane Francine dumped heavy rains on the city. (Photo by Matthew Perschall)

NEW ORLEANS — For a city that routinely sees flooding, New Orleans residents and business owners were taken aback by the intense rains of Hurricane Francine, which still was at Category 1 strength when it passed over the city Wednesday night.

The National Weather Service reported at least 7 inches of rain fell Wednesday in the New Orleans area, which exceeds the removal capacity of the city’s drainage system. Reports from the weather station at Armstrong International Airport indicate rainfall amounts exceeded levels from Hurricane Ida in 2021 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell applauded the city’s response to Francine, emphasizing that damage assessment and addressing immediate resident needs will continue Thursday.

Floodwater that lingered in low-lying areas overnight had largely cleared by Thursday morning. However, issues lingered with the New Orleans wastewater system, leading the Sewerage and Water Board to ask the public to limit their water use for washing dishes, laundry and showers. As in Hurricane Ida three years ago, power outages disrupted sewer lift stations that transport wastewater to a treatment plant.

Residents in the Lakeview neighborhood report water backing up into bathtubs and toilets, with some spilling over into their homes. At The Steak Knife restaurant, employees were cleaning water out of the business that’s flooded multiple times in recent years.

S&WB executive director Ghassan Korban called Francine an “overwhelming event” during a City Hall press conference Thursday. Since major flooding in 2017, the Sewerage and Water Board has relied on backup diesel-powered generators as a key part of its electrical supply for its drainage system. Those generators tripped during the hurricane, causing what was described as a brief power outage that the utility said did not affect drainage.

Some 117 people stayed overnight at a city-run shelter. Officials were evaluating whether there’s a continued need to keep the shelter open, along with cooling centers to account for increasing temperatures.

Dr. Jennifer Avegno, New Orleans’ health director, said 23 of the 68 independent living centers in the city were without power as of midday Thursday. After Hurricane Ida, prolonged power outages contributed fatalities at these facilities.

A city ordinance enacted since then requires independent living centers to report their status by noon each day to the city during a disaster declaration, and each center must have a point of contact on site. Health department personnel are visiting each of the 23 centers without power and so far have not found any critical needs, Avegno said.

Entergy New Orleans, the sole provider for electricity in the city, reported just more than 51,000 customers without power as of midday Thursday. While outages are scattered throughout New Orleans, some of the larger concentrations are in Uptown, Mid-City, Gentilly, 7th Ward and Faubourg Marigny.

Hurricane Francine provided a test run for New Orleans’ 10 community lighthouses , solar-power sites around the city where neighbors can find air conditioning and recharge their devices. Eight of the sites were open to the public as of Thursday, with the state of the remaining two undetermined. One lighthouse was dealing with flooding and roofing issues.

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