Tropical Storm Francine's strength has increased in the Gulf of Mexico and it is expected to reach hurricane status before making landfall in Louisiana.
As the storm approached the U.S. coast, residents made last-minute preparations, including filling sandbags, buying gasoline and stocking up on necessities to face a storm that's expected to strengthen into a hurricane before reaching land.
The storm is moving over extremely warm Gulf waters that serve as fuel to strengthen it. Water temperatures are about 87 degrees where Francine is located, said Brian McNoldy, senior research associate at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. In downtown New Orleans, cars and trucks were lined up for blocks to collect sandbags from the parking lot of a local YMCA, whose CEO Erika Mann said Tuesday that 1,000 bags of sand had already been distributed by volunteers.
A little over three years after Hurricane Ida trashed his home in the Dulac community of coastal Louisiana’s Terrebonne Parish – and about a month after he finished rebuilding – Coy Verdin was preparing for another hurricane. Landry said the Louisiana National Guard is being deployed to parishes that could be impacted by Francine. They are equipped with food, water, nearly 400 high-water vehicles, about 100 boats and 50 helicopters to respond to the storm, including possible search-and-rescue operations.
Francine's storm surge on the Louisiana coast could reach as much as 10 feet from Cameron to Port Fourchon and into Vermilion Bay, forecasters said.
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