As the system moved inland, crews began clearing roads and restoring electricity while neighborhoods and businesses started cleaning up the mess. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries, Gov. Jeff Landry said.
“The human spirit is defined by its resiliency, and resiliency is what defines Louisiana,” Landry told a news conference. “Certainly there are times and situations that try us, but it is also when we in this state are at our very best.”
At the peak of the storm, 450,000 people in Louisiana were without power, based on numbers reported by the Public Service Commission. Many of the outages were linked to falling debris, not structural damage. At one point, around 500 people were in emergency shelters, state officials said.
“The amount of money invested in resilience has really made a difference, from the power outages to the number of homes saved,” said Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who attended the governor's news conference.
The storm drenched the northern Gulf Coast. Up to 6 inches of rain was possible in parts of Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia, with up to 10 inches possible in parts of Alabama and Florida. Flash flooding threatened cities as far away as Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta.
