As Hurricane Francine approaches, Memphis residents should prepare for possible dangers. About 3,000 people are already without power. MLGW has crews ready to fix outages and advises everyone to charge portable batteries and stock up on non-perishable food and water for up to three days. "The unfortunate part is with heavy winds, saturated ground, and gusty winds, that can't prevent large trees and very large limbs from eventually coming down, we can only trim back 15-20 feet from the line, so if the wind impacts a very tall tree it's potentially gonna cause an outage," MLGW CEO Doug McGowen stated, per Action News 5. Residents are urged to check MLGW's outage map and report outages using the app or by calling 544-6500.
Due to Hurricane Francine's remnants, power outages and street flooding are a concern. City crews are working diligently to clear 50,000 storm drains in Memphis to minimize flooding. Charles Newell from Shelby County Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency emphasized self-maintenance: "There are not enough employees to go around to clean every drain. People need to police themselves," he said in a statement detailed by Local Memphis.
Already making landfall as a Category 2 hurricane along the Louisiana coast on Wednesday, Francine has since weakened but still brings a swath of heavy rain and high winds moving north. This weather is expected to persist into the weekend. Although rain is welcome after dry conditions, flash flooding remains a risk, especially in urban areas that are particularly vulnerable, according to the National Weather Service Memphis office. The Commercial Appeal detailed this information.
MLGW will first restore power to hospitals and essential facilities, focus on safety hazards like downed power lines, and tackle areas with widespread outages. As the storm continues, residents should stay alert, report problems, and look out for each other.
