HOUMA: Hurricane Francine is expected to make landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday, forecasters said, warning of life-threatening flooding and storm surges as residents of the southern US state rushed to set up businesses and stockpile emergency supplies. The Category 2 storm was associated with sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour and could bring up to 10 feet of storm surge and 12 inches of rainfall to parts of Louisiana, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. Flooding, rain and wind could be seen as early as Wednesday afternoon in some towns along the Gulf Coast, including a cemetery and other neighborhoods in the coastal village of Dulac. In nearby Houma, residents filled sandbags, stockpiled supplies and filled their cars with gas ahead of the storm’s arrival. “We are working hard to stay here as long as we can … to take care of our people,” a gas station manager, who gave her name as Alicia B., told AFP. “Hurricane-force winds in the northern eyewall of Francine are approaching the southern Louisiana coast,” the NHC said, adding that landfall would occur within hours. “Now is the time to stay indoors and away from windows. The NHC said the storm is expected to weaken rapidly as it moves inland over Louisiana and neighboring Mississippi. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency and on Tuesday asked President Joe Biden for a federal emergency declaration, which he quickly approved. “This federal assistance will be critical to saving lives and property,” Landry said in a statement thanking the president for X. The Louisiana National Guard in X said its troops were refueling vehicles in preparation for the storm. It said Tuesday it was mobilizing helicopters, boats and supplies for evacuation and search and rescue. Schools and universities around the capital, Baton Rouge, were closed as a precaution until Friday, according to the government’s website. According to local media, a curfew was declared for communities in the Louisiana Capital Region as early as 18:00 local time (2300 GMT). Low-lying Louisiana was the site of one of the most destructive hurricanes in US history, Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,300 people when it slammed into populous New Orleans in late August 2005, overwhelming the city’s levee system and causing widespread flooding. At the mouth of the Mississippi River, Louisiana is a major American commercial center with a significant portion of its economy linked to oil and natural gas production.
