Hurricane Francine threatens Louisiana's coast with strong winds, flooding

Hurricane Francine barrelled toward Louisiana on Wednesday as residents made last-minute trips to stock up on supplies and forecasters warned of potentially deadly storm surge, widespread flooding and destructive winds on the northern US Gulf coast.

In Morgan City, gas stations had already put plywood on the windows and moved trash cans inside, with a few pumps still serving the trickle of cars passing through shortly after dawn.

Retired boat captain Pat Simon, 75, and his wife, Ruth, had loaded all their possessions in garbage bags and tied them down in the back of a rented U-Haul pickup truck as they evacuated their home near the banks of the Atchafalaya River near Morgan City.

Hurricane season typically peaks around this time of year, but Pat Simon wasn't overly concerned about Francine.

I don't think it's going to be that bad, like some of the other ones like Ida and Katrina, he said. I mean, we've had some bad ones.

Morgan City, home to around 11,500 people, sits on the banks