In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Francine, the streets of New Orleans flooded, winds raced at speeds of over 80 miles per hour and over 400,000 Louisiana residents were without power.

But LSU never lost power because of the storm, said university spokesperson Zach Labbe. The university weathered the wind and there was no unexpected flooding.

Much of Francine’s damage was concentrated in the state’s east. Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said the city was “largely spared” from the storm’s worst. 

Francine landed as a Category 2 Hurricane near Houma and Morgan City before taking a path through New Orleans and the Northshore. Forecasters downgraded Francine’s status to a tropical storm and tropical depression within hours of landfall.

“There was no major damage to the campus,” Labbe said in a statement.

Muddy puddles and tree debris littered campus the morning immediately after the storm. A few smaller trees had been blown unnaturally.

Labbe said Facility Services staff were at work on Friday to complete minor repairs. He said there wasn’t an exact figure for repair costs at this time.

Expected to be worse

Labbe said the university’s officials anticipated the storm would affect Baton Rouge and LSU’s campus more severely than it did.

Based on earlier forecasts, he said, the university expected heavier rainfall, winds and flooding. Essential personnel with the university’s Emergency Operations Center were activated ahead of the storm. 

He said a curfew for campus residents was ordered, shelter-in-place protocol was initiated, an emergency feeding plan was launched and backup power equipment was mobilized in the event of outages.

“Although the storm’s impact on Baton Rouge varied, we took all necessary steps to prepare for potentially harsher conditions,” Labbe said.