Francine struck the coast of Louisiana Wednesday night as a dangerous Category 2 hurricane that knocked out power to tens of thousands of customers and threatened widespread flooding while sending a potentially deadly storm surge inland along the Gulf Coast. Despite quickly weakening to a tropical storm, it had a strong impact.

Francine made landfall in Terrebonne Parish, about 30 miles southwest of Morgan City, the National Hurricane Center said. announced at 4:00pm CDTThe storm, which reached sustained winds of nearly 100 mph (160 km/h), slammed into a vulnerable coastal region that has yet to fully recover from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021.

Morgan City Fire Chief Alvin Cockerham said Francine quickly flooded streets, snapped power lines and knocked down tree branches.

“It’s a bit worse than I expected, to be honest,” Cockerham said of the attack. “I’ve driven all my trucks back to the station; it’s too dangerous to be out here.”

More than 221,000 customers in Louisiana were without power as of Wednesday evening, according to utility company PowerOutage.us.

TV news reports from Louisiana’s coastal communities showed waves from nearby lakes, rivers and Gulf waters crashing against seawalls. Water rushed into city streets and neighborhoods amid blinding downpours. Oak and cypress trees leaned in the high winds, and some power poles swayed.

Terrebonne Parish, near where the storm made landfall, was hit hardest by the power outages, as was neighboring St. Mary Parish, which includes Morgan City.

Francine was centered about 35 miles northwest of New Orleans and had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph through late Wednesday evening, according to the hurricane center. It was moving toward the northeast at 16 mph.

Louisiana prepares for the worst

Terrebonne Parish President Jason Bergeron told CBS News on Wednesday that the levees are stable, but water levels are rising.

“The ground is saturated with water and because the levy system is closed, it is more difficult for that water to drain away, except in some areas where there are pumps,” Bergeron said.

Laura Leftwich, who was sheltering with her mother just outside Morgan City, said wind gusts had blown away two large birdhouses outside. She had a generator powering an internet connection so she could video chat with friends, and she held her computer up to a window to show them as water flooded the street.

“If the storm had been any more violent, I wouldn’t have had the courage to look outside,” said Leftwich, 40. “It’s a little scary.”

The National Hurricane Center urged residents to stay sheltered overnight as Francine moves inland. The storm’s forecast track included New Orleans, where meteorologists said the eye of the storm could pass through.

“Conditions are going to deteriorate very rapidly over the next couple of hours,” Jamie Rhome, the deputy director of the hurricane center, said in an online briefing before landfall. “It’s not going to be a good night to be driving on the roads, especially as the sun goes down.”

Bands of heavy rain began hitting New Orleans early Wednesday morning and were expected to intensify as Francine approaches. New Orleans could receive up to 10 inches of rain, straining the city’s water pumps and drainage systems.

“Stay inside, sit down,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a news conference Wednesday. “The time is now, between now and midnight.”

A flood emergency has been declared for New Orleans, Metairie and Kenner until 11:45 p.m. local time, the National Weather Service said.

Francine is expected to weaken rapidly

Francine, which drew fuel from the extremely warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, strengthened to a Category 2 storm hours before landfall, the National Hurricane Center said. Category 2 hurricanes are classified as those with winds between 96 and 110 mph that can cause major damage.

The hurricane, still dangerous, began to weaken as it moved inland, dropping back to a Category 1 storm with 85 mph winds in less than two hours. Francine continued to move northeast at a brisk 17 mph on a path toward New Orleans, about 55 miles away.

It was forecast to weaken further as it moved north through Mississippi on Thursday, bringing widespread rainfall over the next few days that would potentially cause flooding in cities including Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta. It also increased the threat of spin-off tornadoes.

According to Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the hurricane center, large parts of Louisiana and Mississippi could see 4 to 8 inches of rain, with some spots seeing 12 inches.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said the National Guard would be deployed to parishes affected by Francine. They have food, water, nearly 400 high-water vehicles, about 100 boats and 50 helicopters to respond to the storm, including possible search and rescue operations.

Louisianans have experience with hurricanes

Since the mid-1800s, some 57 hurricanes have passed through or made landfall in Louisiana, according to The Weather Channel. They include some of the strongest, costliest and deadliest storms in U.S. history.

Morgan City, with a population of about 11,500, is located on the banks of the Atchafalaya River in southern Louisiana and is surrounded by lakes and marshes. It is described on the city’s website as “a gateway to the Gulf of Mexico for the shrimping and oilfield industries.”

Luis Morfin, 26, left his camper outside the Morgan City levee to hang out with a friend Wednesday night. The wind whipped against the windows as they watched a television powered by a generator. The power was out, but they were prepared to cook steaks and potatoes on a propane stove.

“We knew what we expected,” Morfin said. “I don’t know how good my camper is, but we’ll see tomorrow.”

President Biden has declared a national emergency to help Louisiana secure accelerated federal funding and aid. Landry and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves have also declared a national emergency.

A hurricane warning was in effect along the Louisiana coast from Cameron east to Grand Isle, about 50 miles south of New Orleans, the hurricane center in Miami said. A storm surge warning extended from the Mississippi-Alabama border to the Alabama-Florida border.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency reported that more than 100,000 sandbags have been distributed in the southern part of the state, and the Department of Education said that some schools will be closed Wednesday and Thursday.

Meteorologists said Francine was the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and prompted storm warnings for storm surges of up to 10 feet (3 meters) along the Louisiana coast from Cameron to Port Fourchon and Vermilion Bay.