Hurricane Francine was steadily churning Wednesday towards the southern US state of Louisiana, weather forecasters said, with its landfall later in the day expected to bring life-threatening floods and winds.
After strengthening into a Category 1 hurricane the day before, Francine was packing sustained winds near 150 kilometres per hour (kmh) on Wednesday morning, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.
“Some additional strengthening is possible this morning,” NHC said, adding Francine was “anticipated to make landfall in Louisiana within the warning area this afternoon or evening”. It said the storm is expected to quickly weaken as it moves inland over Louisiana and neighbouring Mississippi.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has declared a state of emergency, and on Tuesday requested a federal emergency declaration from President Joe Biden, which he quickly approved. “This federal assistance will be pivotal to save lives and property,” Landry said in a statement thanking the president on X.
The Louisiana National Guard said on X that it was mobilizing helicopters, boats and supplies for evacuations and search and rescue.
Schools and universities around the capital Baton Rouge were preemptively closed until Friday, according to a government website.
Low-lying Louisiana was the site of one of the most devastating hurricanes in US history, Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,300 people after it slammed into populous New Orleans in late August 2005, overwhelming the city’s levee system and causing extensive flooding.
At the mouth of the Mississippi River, Louisiana is a major US trade hub with a significant part of its economy linked to the oil and natural gas industry. The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1 and will end on November 30, was expected to be busy but has seen just three hurricanes so far, reportedly puzzling scientists.
Hurricane Beryl became the earliest highest-level Category 5 storm on record after it formed in late June and ploughed through the Caribbean, eventually hitting Texas and Louisiana, with dozens of deaths reported in its wake.
Scientists say climate change likely plays a role in the rapid intensification of storms because there is more energy in a warmer ocean for them to feed on.
