Hurricane Francine lands in Louisiana, putting New Orleans on edge

By Ned Randolph

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) -Hurricane Francine came ashore in southern Louisiana on Wednesday, threatening New Orleans and the wider Gulf Coast with powerful winds, rain and a storm surge that led to evacuation orders for thousands of people.

Francine packed maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour (150 kph) after the eye of the storm traveled inland over southern Louisiana about 65 miles (105 km) west-southwest of New Orleans, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The hurricane center briefly upgraded the storm from Category 1 to Category 2 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale just before it made landfall. Even as a Category 1 storm, its very dangerous winds are capable of producing damage, and the whole of the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Mississippi was under a warning for storm surge that the hurricane center called life-threatening.

The New Orleans metropolitan area was under a hurricane watch, meaning hurricane conditions were possible.

The iconic French Quarter neighborhood known for its tourist bars and restaurants was locked down with a noticeable police presence and very few pedestrians.

On Bourbon Street, Gina Kralek said she was working at the Clover Grill covering for a pair of co-workers who had evacuated before the storm.

"Normally I evacuate but I've got my three dogs," Kralek said. "Not everyone wants to take me with the dogs."

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and U.S. President Joe Biden each declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the storm, freeing up emergency management resources and potential financial aid in the event of serious damage.

Several parishes, or counties, on or near the Louisiana Gulf Coast earlier issued mandatory evacuation orders, and the state transportation department issued evacuation maps. The city of New Orleans distributed sandbags at five sites.

Any major storm near Louisiana evokes memories of Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 storm that devastated New Orleans and surrounding areas, killing nearly 1,400 people and causing $125 billion in damage, according to a 2023 hurricane center report.

Water from Lake Pontchartrain, which borders the city to the north, was starting to churn over its seawall. However since Katrina, the federal government built a $14.5 billion levee protection system, which includes storm water gates that can prevent storm surge into the city's interior drainage canals, which experienced catastrophic failure during Hurricane Katrina.

Grocery stores were boarded up by late afternoon but not before veterans of previous storms loaded up on provisions.

"We're all set. We have our canned goods. Have our supplies," said Steve Rodriguez, who has lived in New Orleans since 1983 and was attempting some additional last-minute shopping. "I was hoping to get some sausage. I've got meat in the freezer but it would be easier to cook up some beans or something."

The storm already had the effect of disrupting energy production and agricultural exports out of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Nearly 39% of oil and almost half of natural gas production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was offline on Wednesday, according to the offshore regulator. A total of 171 production platforms and three rigs had been evacuated.

The hurricane center reported a peak gust of 97 mph (156 kph) in Dulac, a coastal fishing community 70 miles southwest of New Orleans.

That's where fisherman Barry Rogers said he planned to ride out the storm on his 80-foot (24-meter) shrimp boat rather than his home.

"The house is not going nowhere. If it does, there's nothing you can do about it," he said. "If a rope breaks on the boat, I'd rather be there to tie up another one."

(Reporting by Ned Randolph in New Orleans; additional reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis, Marguerita Choy and Sandra Maler)