Ferocious Francine slams Louisiana ripping roofs from buildings, trapping residents amid rising floodwaters

FOX 4 News, By Steven Yablonski and Emilee Speck, September 12, 2024

Francine was downgraded to a tropical depression Thursday after slamming the Louisiana coast as a powerful Category 2 hurricane on Wednesday, with 100-mph winds that ripped roofs from buildings and trapped dozens of residents inside their homes amid rising floodwaters due to torrential rain.

The eye of then-Hurricane Francine moved onshore at 5 p.m. CT in Terrebonne Parish, pushing hurricane-force wind gusts into southern portions of the state near Baton Rouge.

Winds were whipping across the region as Francine approached, made landfall and moved inland on Wednesday and Thursday. New Orleans reported wind gusts of 78 and 76 mph, while Dulac reported a 97-mph gust and Eugene Island experienced the highest wind gust at 105 mph.

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