Louisiana rebounds in the wake of Hurricane Francine as parish offices reopen, water orders lift

Gov. Jeff Landry and other state officials boarded a convoy of three Louisiana State Police and National Guard helicopters in Baton Rouge Friday morning. From the air, bayous and other waterways appeared swollen, but minimal damage from Francine was visible. 

Though it deluged several parishes and left some homeowners mopping water, Francine’s much-hyped destructive storm surges never came, and many officials said the storm posed less of a threat than they feared. That point was underscored Friday as lights began to flicker on, government offices began to reopen and day-to-day life resumed in many parishes. 

Officials in Terrebonne Parish, where Francine made landfall, said they fared better than expected. “Reports we’re getting so far is the damage is light,” Terrebonne Parish President Jason Bergeron said. “Everything held up.”

In St. John the Baptist Parish, less than 30% of residents who had lost power remained without it Friday morning, officials said. “Even if you haven’t seen the trucks, progress is being made,” said parish spokesperson Baileigh Rebowe Helm. 

In Orleans and Jefferson parishes government officials lifted water restrictions Friday morning, allowing residents to resume washing dishes and doing laundry. The same was true for St. Charles Parish, where more than 280 houses had flooded. 

But even as large swaths of the state returned to normal, others continued to battle the aftermath of a storm that dumped several inches of rain in just a few hours. 

From the helicopter, Landry and other officials saw acre after acre of flattened sugar cane fields around Pierre Part and further down the bayou, crops felled by the storm’s winds.

St. John and St. James parishes remained under water conservation orders as of 11 a.m. Thursday. In St. John, sections of both Interstate 55 and U.S. Highway 51 were closed due to high water; in St. Bernard Parish, La. 46 was passable, but still covered by water, parish officials said. 

”When we look over and we fly over, there are certainly people out there who need a lot of services,” Landry told local officials during a meeting in Morgan City. ”But it seems this storm put the most pressure on our utilities.”

This is an ongoing story. Please check back for updates.