St. John and St. James parishes remained under water conservation orders as of 11 a.m. Thursday. In St. John, sections of both Interstate 55 and U.S. Highway 51 were closed due to high water; in St. Bernard Parish, La. 46 was passable, but still covered by water, parish officials said.

The National Hurricane Center said Francine, a hurricane when it hit land, was weakening rapidly but was still a heavy rainmaker across several Gulf Coast states.

Storm Francine barreled into southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi and Alabama on Thursday, pounding the region with heavy rains and gusty winds while threatening the Gulf Coast with dangerous flooding and widespread power outages.