Governor Jeff Landry, as well as several other officials, gathered for a press conference to discuss the damages from Hurricane Francine and recovery plans.
"The human spirit is defined by resiliency, and resiliency is defined by Louisiana," Landry said. "The worst of times normally brings out the best of us."
Landry said damages from the storm would have been much worse without the pre-storm planning and flood damage investments that were made in Louisiana.
According to Brandon Frey, the executive secretary of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, most of the damage was vegetation related.
He compared Hurricane Francine's path to those of Hurricanes Gustav and Isaac, which peaked with 1.3 million and 900,000 customers without power.
Hurricane Francine peaked at 450,000, according to Landry. That number has since dropped to 350,000 as crews are working to get utilities back up and running throughout the state.
As utility crews work to get things back online, Landry encourages Louisiana residents to stay off the roadway. If you must travel, he asks that you drive slowly and respect the workers.
Senator Kennedy said there was "a lot of wind, a lot of water, a lot of loss of power," but he is sure Louisiana will "get the money that we deserve from the federal government to help us" with public assistance, infrastructure repair, personal assistance and mitigation grants.
The Louisiana National Guard (LANG) began search and rescue efforts this morning with nothing significant to report, supporting Gov. Landry's announcement that no storm-related deaths have been reported.
LANG is now turning their focus to distributing commodities to those affected by the hurricane.
The Louisiana State Police are removing debris and trees from roadways and assessing damage and road conditions.
For those who did experience damage from Hurricane Francine, Deanne Criswell with FEMA shared a few steps you should be taking:
- Call your insurance company
- Take photos of everything
- Collect any important documents
- Stay safe as you're cleaning up
"Just because the storm has passed does not mean the threat and the risk has passed," Criswell said.
