“Should Francine pass closer to the city, the storm’s eyewall, the most intense part of the storm can pass near or over parts of the city, which would increase the risk for wind gusts of 80-100 mph," he added, noting that this could cause widespread and potentially long-lasting power outages.

Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana Wednesday evening as a Category 2 storm, triggering widespread flooding, power outages and damaging wind speeds to the already fragile coastal area. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the storm slammed into southern Louisiana around 5 p.