Ali Reid was in New Orleans Wednesday morning, where residents are out jogging and walking before the wind and rain arrive as Hurricane Francine approaches landfall.
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00:00Our coverage begins right now with Allie Reed.
00:03She's live for us in New Orleans.
00:05And Allie, we heard that you've seen runners
00:07going out and about, and of course,
00:09while running is good for physical fitness,
00:11it is also huge for mental health.
00:13So I don't know if people just maybe stress with the storm
00:15and just kind of want to get out,
00:16get some fresh air, for lack of a better word,
00:18because we know it's humid outside.
00:23Well, absolutely.
00:23You know what?
00:24And we have seen, now that the sun has come up,
00:27many people running, jogging, walking,
00:30taking in the sights over the next couple of hours
00:33before the rain comes in.
00:35How are you hanging in?
00:36Just enjoying the morning?
00:37We're live on the AccuWeather Network.
00:39Just walking, enjoying New Orleans right now?
00:41Yeah, yeah, I wanted to see the sun come up
00:44with all the storm coming in.
00:46Yeah, it's been rather quiet this morning,
00:48but there's been some walkers,
00:49some runners this morning.
00:50Have you seen that yourself?
00:52Yeah, I've seen a couple.
00:53I think we know to get it in while we can.
00:56Yeah, yeah, well, landfall is gonna be
00:58not until later on this evening.
00:59Are you planning on hunkering down yourself,
01:01just staying as safe and prepared as possible?
01:03Super hunkered down, yeah, just staying safe.
01:06What's your name?
01:07Breeland.
01:07Breeland, so nice to meet you.
01:09Enjoy the rest of your day.
01:10Stay safe.
01:10We know that this could potentially
01:12bring some pretty strong wind and rain
01:14later on this evening.
01:15So hunker down, enjoy the city while you can.
01:19It was so nice to meet you.
01:21So we heard from Breeland.
01:22She is one of those people
01:23that is out enjoying the morning.
01:26It's a little muggy out,
01:27but we've got the breeze at times.
01:29For the most part, though,
01:30the weather has been rather enjoyable this morning
01:33ahead of Francine.
01:34Now, yesterday, as we were roving about the area,
01:37we made our way to Laplace, Louisiana.
01:39We've been showing you this video
01:40throughout yesterday and this morning,
01:42but people outside of this city
01:44are taking this very seriously.
01:46They understand the devastation
01:48that these types of storms can bring,
01:51like Isaac back in 2012 and Ida in 2021.
01:54Some people talking to me
01:56about what those experiences were like
01:57having to rebuild their homes.
01:59So they were out putting sand in bags,
02:01putting those into cars to bring back home,
02:03many of them leaning on each other in the community
02:06as they prepare ahead of landfall later on this evening.
02:10But for the most part,
02:11I will say there has been an overwhelming sense of calm
02:14here in New Orleans,
02:15especially here in the French Quarter.
02:18Again, many people taking in the sites this morning.
02:22I want to show you one more thing before we toss it back.
02:23Look at the water here.
02:24This is the Mississippi River.
02:26It is eerily calm, guys.
02:28Look at this.
02:29I just want to, we need like a moment of silence.
02:34No rain, no strong winds,
02:37just the beautiful Mississippi River.
02:39Take it in.
02:41Ali, one thing, have you talked to city officials?
02:44Pretty nice, huh?
02:45We are expecting very strong winds.
02:48Are city's officials ready for power outages
02:51around New Orleans later today?
02:56They are.
02:57You know, I will say that roving about this area,
03:00there are city officials on every other block.
03:03They are taking this seriously.
03:05Again, we know and they know what types of storms
03:09they've cut that have come through this area.
03:11And so they are well-prepared in advance
03:13for something like this.
03:14What I found just incredible is that, again,
03:18leading up 24, 48 hours in advance,
03:21again, you had those sandbagging stations,
03:23but not only that, again,
03:25we talked about it in the last hour,
03:26they have homeless shelters readily available too
03:29for those that need to seek shelter.
03:31So they have thought about every little scenario here
03:35for people that are not only here in the city,
03:37but outside of the city as well.
03:39They are ready for this storm.
03:41It is pretty evident for me to see.
03:43Well, Louisiana has had a fair share of practice here
03:45year in year when it comes to the hurricane season.
03:48Allie Reed, we appreciate you being alive outside.
03:51We also appreciate your extroverted personality
03:53to just grab Breeland and just bring her onto TV.
03:58So it gives us an idea of folks out and about
04:00and no one can do it just like Allie.