Tropical Storm Francine is expected to make landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday as a hurricane, bringing a life-threatening storm surge with it.
Ports along the Gulf Coast were monitoring the storm on Tuesday. Resilinc, a supply chain data monitoring platform, estimates that Francine will impact the aerospace, oil and manufacturing industries across nearly 11,000 sites.
The National Weather Service said the storm was southeast of Brownsville, Texas, early Tuesday morning and moving north. “Considerable” flash flooding is expected, along with rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches and local amounts of up to 12 inches through Thursday night, forecasters predict.
The National Hurricane Center said in a Tuesday afternoon update that Francine was expected to strengthen into a hurricane by Tuesday night. Forecasters anticipate that the storm will move away from the coast of northeastern Mexico and south Texas on Tuesday afternoon before moving across the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. After making landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday, Francine is projected to move into Mississippi.
As of Tuesday morning, Francine was a “potent tropical storm” with sustained winds of 65 mph, according to AccuWeather.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Monday declared a state of emergency due to the storm’s anticipated effects. Parishes across Louisiana issued voluntary and mandatory evacuations ahead of landfall.
“We want the citizens of the state not to panic but to be prepared,” Landry said at a news conference Monday.
How ports are preparing
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended inbound vessel traffic at the Port of Galveston on Monday night. Smaller vessels should seek shelter in preparation for a port closure, the Texas port said.
The Port of New Orleans, a general cargo port handling containerized and breakbulk cargo, was operating on limited service Tuesday afternoon. The port announced it will close Wednesday with plans to reopen Thursday.
Port Fourchon in Louisiana said in a Monday afternoon update that non-essential personnel should evacuate the port. Officials expect the storm to dump 3 to 5 inches of rain onto the port Wednesday and Thursday.
The American Logistics Aid Network announced Tuesday that it will share requests for donated logistics assistance, which are expected to begin arriving 24 to 72 hours after Francine makes landfall. The nonprofit, which provides supply chain assistance to disaster relief organizations, operates a database of active logistics needs.
“All signs point to Tropical Storm/Hurricane Francine making landfall as a Category 2 hurricane, and because the area has experienced so much rain in the past two weeks, officials are expecting lots of downed trees, significant power outages and water systems disruptions that could last several days. Inland flooding is also likely across Louisiana and parts of Mississippi and Texas,” said ALAN Executive Director Kathy Fulton. “As a result, we have already begun receiving requests for assistance — and we are mobilizing accordingly.”
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