US
Hurricane Francine: Trapped driver rescued from floodwater in New Orleans live on TV
A dramatic rescue was captured on live TV in New Orleans as Hurricane Francine swept in to the city.
The category two storm made landfall in the state of Louisiana on Wednesday night, bringing strong winds and heavy rains which caused flooding and knocked out electricity to more than a quarter of a million properties.
Jonah Gilmore, a reporter with New Orleans channel WDSU, was live on air when he spotted a vehicle driving into floodwater.
“We saw the pickup truck going into the canal underpass from the opposite direction… going against traffic… when this area was blocked off,” he said.
The panicked reporter flagged down a nearby police officer as he described how the water was “coming up so quickly” – but as he did so a passing Good Samaritan also leapt into action and approached the car with a hammer.
Mr Gilmore told viewers: “You can see that guy breaking the [vehicle’s] window.”
The footage then showed a man’s head emerging from a rear door window and squeezing through the gap.
The driver was eventually led to safety by the rescuer, Miles Crawford, before firefighters arrived at the scene.
Submerged cars in New Orleans: Pic: AP
Mr Crawford, who works in a hospital ER department, said afterwards: “I just had to go in there and get him. I’m a nurse so I got to save lives.”
Hurricane Francine came ashore in Louisiana with winds approaching 100mph in Terrebonne Parish, about 30 miles southwest of Morgan City, according to the National Hurricane Centre.
It prompted evacuation orders for thousands of people in a region which has still not fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021.
Evacuation orders were issued before the hurricane hit. Pic: Reuters
Firefighters in Morgan City, near where the storm made landfall. Pic: AP
Morgan City fire chief Alvin Cockerham said the hurricane quickly flooded streets, snapped power lines and sent trees crashing down.
“It’s a little bit worse than what I expected to be honest with you…. it’s too dangerous to be out there in this,” he said.
The hurricane’s path later moved inland, cutting power supplies for 261,000 properties across southeast Louisiana, before weakening to a tropical storm.
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Much of Louisiana and Mississippi could be hit by 10 to 20cm (4 to 8in) of rain, with the possibility of 30cm (12in) in some places, said Brad Reinhart, a senior specialist at the hurricane centre.
Francine is the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and was fuelled by exceedingly warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
President Joe Biden has approved emergency support to help Louisiana secure federal money and assistance.