Two South Louisiana parishes battered by storms in recent years appeared to have been spared the worst of Hurricane Francine’s bracing winds and heavy rains.
The word from Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes Thursday morning was relief.
A couple thousands folks were without power and crews were dealing with some downed lines and bent utility poles. But there were no reported injuries or major damage to structures. No water rescues or water damage in homes. Highways were clear and evacuation orders were being lifted.
“We are looking very, very good,” St. Bernard Parish President Louis Pomes said.
Francine roared ashore near Morgan City on Wednesday evening as a Category 2 hurricane, but quickly lost steam. Its maximum winds reduced to Category 1-strength of around 85 mph as the storm moved inland toward New Orleans and its surrounding parishes.
About 1,800 Entergy customers in St. Bernard Parish lost power, but as of Thursday morning that number was reduced to a little over 1,000, Pomes said.
"They’re doing an amazing job," Pomes said about Entergy.
In lower Plaquemines Parish, there was a concern from forecasts that a floodwall near Highway 23 would overtop, as it did during a flood five years ago. But the floodwall held, said Plaquemines Parish President Keith Hinkley.
“It tried,” Hinkley told WWL-TV on Thursday morning. “But it didn’t happen, which is a good thing for Plaquemines Parish,” he said, adding that all Highway 23 along with all the parish’s major roads are open.
The parish did see problems related to power outages, however. As Francine made landfall, it had urged residents to limit water use, with outages and an inundation of rainwater having affected sewer lift stations. Parish officials asked residents to limit showering, washing dishes, flushing toilets and any non-essential water use.
