MORGAN CITY, La, Sept 12, (AP): Francine weakened to a tropical storm late Wednesday after striking Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane that blacked out more than 275,000 homes and businesses, sent storm surge rushing into coastal communities and raised flood fears in New Orleans and beyond as drenching rains spread over the northern Gulf Coast. The storm was forecast to be downgraded to a tropical depression Thursday as it churned northward over Mississippi, the National Hurricane Center said.

Some 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain were possible in portions of Mississippi and neighboring states, forecasters said, warning of the potential threat of scattered flash flooding as farflung as Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta. Francine slammed the Louisiana coast Wednesday evening with 100 mph (155 kph) winds in coastal Terrebonne Parish. battering a fragile coastal region that hasn’t fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021.

It then moved at a fast clip of 17 mph (26 kph) toward New Orleans, pounding the city with torrential rains overnight. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. TV news broadcasts from coastal communities showed waves from nearby lakes, rivers and Gulf waters thrashing sea walls. Water poured into city streets amid blinding downpours. Oak and cypress trees leaned in the high winds, and some utility poles swayed back and forth.

"It’s a little bit worse than what I expected to be honest with you,” said Alvin Cockerham, fire chief of Morgan City about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from where the storm's center made landfall. "I pulled all my trucks back to the station. It’s too dangerous to be out there in this.” Power outages in Louisiana topped 362,546 a few hours after landfall, spread out widely across southeast Louisiana, according to the tracking site poweroutage.us. Sheltering at her mother's home just outside Morgan City, Laura Leftwich said blasts of wind had swept away two large birdhouses outside. She had a generator powering an internet connection so she could video chat with friends, holding her computer to a window to show them water overflowing in the street.