Hurricane Francine threatens the Gulf Coast

AccuWeather

Ali Reid was in New Orleans Wednesday morning, where residents are out jogging and walking before the wind and rain arrive as Hurricane Francine approaches landfall.

Transcript

00:00Our coverage begins right now with Allie Reed.

00:03She's live for us in New Orleans.

00:05And Allie, we heard that you've seen runners

00:07going out and about, and of course,

00:09while running is good for physical fitness,

00:11it is also huge for mental health.

00:13So I don't know if people just maybe stress with the storm

00:15and just kind of want to get out,

00:16get some fresh air, for lack of a better word,

00:18because we know it's humid outside.

00:23Well, absolutely.

00:23You know what?

00:24And we have seen, now that the sun has come up,

00:27many people running, jogging, walking,

00:30taking in the sights over the next couple of hours

00:33before the rain comes in.

00:35How are you hanging in?

00:36Just enjoying the morning?

00:37We're live on the AccuWeather Network.

00:39Just walking, enjoying New Orleans right now?

00:41Yeah, yeah, I wanted to see the sun come up

00:44with all the storm coming in.

00:46Yeah, it's been rather quiet this morning,

00:48but there's been some walkers,

00:49some runners this morning.

00:50Have you seen that yourself?

00:52Yeah, I've seen a couple.

00:53I think we know to get it in while we can.

00:56Yeah, yeah, well, landfall is gonna be

00:58not until later on this evening.

00:59Are you planning on hunkering down yourself,

01:01just staying as safe and prepared as possible?

01:03Super hunkered down, yeah, just staying safe.

01:06What's your name?

01:07Breeland.

01:07Breeland, so nice to meet you.

01:09Enjoy the rest of your day.

01:10Stay safe.

01:10We know that this could potentially

01:12bring some pretty strong wind and rain

01:14later on this evening.

01:15So hunker down, enjoy the city while you can.

01:19It was so nice to meet you.

01:21So we heard from Breeland.

01:22She is one of those people

01:23that is out enjoying the morning.

01:26It's a little muggy out,

01:27but we've got the breeze at times.

01:29For the most part, though,

01:30the weather has been rather enjoyable this morning

01:33ahead of Francine.

01:34Now, yesterday, as we were roving about the area,

01:37we made our way to Laplace, Louisiana.

01:39We've been showing you this video

01:40throughout yesterday and this morning,

01:42but people outside of this city

01:44are taking this very seriously.

01:46They understand the devastation

01:48that these types of storms can bring,

01:51like Isaac back in 2012 and Ida in 2021.

01:54Some people talking to me

01:56about what those experiences were like

01:57having to rebuild their homes.

01:59So they were out putting sand in bags,

02:01putting those into cars to bring back home,

02:03many of them leaning on each other in the community

02:06as they prepare ahead of landfall later on this evening.

02:10But for the most part,

02:11I will say there has been an overwhelming sense of calm

02:14here in New Orleans,

02:15especially here in the French Quarter.

02:18Again, many people taking in the sites this morning.

02:22I want to show you one more thing before we toss it back.

02:23Look at the water here.

02:24This is the Mississippi River.

02:26It is eerily calm, guys.

02:28Look at this.

02:29I just want to, we need like a moment of silence.

02:34No rain, no strong winds,

02:37just the beautiful Mississippi River.

02:39Take it in.

02:41Ali, one thing, have you talked to city officials?

02:44Pretty nice, huh?

02:45We are expecting very strong winds.

02:48Are city's officials ready for power outages

02:51around New Orleans later today?

02:56They are.

02:57You know, I will say that roving about this area,

03:00there are city officials on every other block.

03:03They are taking this seriously.

03:05Again, we know and they know what types of storms

03:09they've cut that have come through this area.

03:11And so they are well-prepared in advance

03:13for something like this.

03:14What I found just incredible is that, again,

03:18leading up 24, 48 hours in advance,

03:21again, you had those sandbagging stations,

03:23but not only that, again,

03:25we talked about it in the last hour,

03:26they have homeless shelters readily available too

03:29for those that need to seek shelter.

03:31So they have thought about every little scenario here

03:35for people that are not only here in the city,

03:37but outside of the city as well.

03:39They are ready for this storm.

03:41It is pretty evident for me to see.

03:43Well, Louisiana has had a fair share of practice here

03:45year in year when it comes to the hurricane season.

03:48Allie Reed, we appreciate you being alive outside.

03:51We also appreciate your extroverted personality

03:53to just grab Breeland and just bring her onto TV.

03:58So it gives us an idea of folks out and about

04:00and no one can do it just like Allie.

Category

Transcript

Recommended