WBRZ Storm Station Meteorologist Balin Rogers reports from Morgan City as Francine makes landfall

>> HURRICANE FRANCINE HAS MADE LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 2 STORM WITH MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ABOUT 100 MILES AN HOUR ABOUT 30 MILES TO THIS TO THE WEST OF MORGAN CITY. >> YEAH. METEOROLOGIST BALAN ROGERS IS RIGHT T IN THE THICK OF IT FAILING. BRING US UP TO DATE. >> WELL, I TELL YOU WHAT, SOPHIA, WE'RE SEEING THE STRONGEST WINDS THAT WE HAVE SEEN SO FAR WITH FRANCINE IS ACTUALLY SOME OF THE STRONGEST WINDS I'VE SEEN IN MY LIFE. AND I'VE BEEN MANY DIFFERENT HURRICANES. THIS FLAG IS ACTUALLY GETTING COMPLETELY RIPPED TO SHREDS. WHEN YOU GET THE RIGHT GUST, THERE IS WINDS OUT BEHIND ME. WE'RE SEEING GAS. I MEAN, IT HAS TO BE HURRICANE FORCE AT THIS POINT. AND THESE WINDS ARE ABSOLUTELY INSANE. WE ARE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. >> THE INNER EYEWALL RIGHT NOW AND WE'RE JUST GETTING BLOWN AROUND IN THESE HURRICANE FORCE WINDS. THESE ARE THE STRONGEST WINDS. >> OF THE STORM RIGHT NOW. AND I'M REALLY HAVING A BRACE. FOR THESE WINDS AS A NEW MOVE THROUGH OUR AREA TO WORK. SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE GUSTING OVER 70 MILES PER HOUR. NOW THERE'S A LOT OF DAMAGE EVERYWHERE. THIS TOWER UP OVER HERE IS MAKING LOTS OF NOISE AS IT DOES. >> LIKE I MENTIONED, THIS IS SOME OF THE STRONGEST WINDS THAT I'VE LIFE AND IT IS JUST CONSTANTLY GOTTEN WORSE. PRETTY MUCH WITH EACH AND EVERY SECOND GO AND PUT FOOT ON HERE. TRY TO PROTECT MYSELF FROM SOME OF THESE WINDS. >> IT HAS BEEN. >> VERY MUCH GOING DOWNHILL HERE IN MORGAN CITY CONTINUE TO HAVE TO BRACE FOR SOME OF THESE GUYS, LIKE I SAID, I WOULD IMAGINE ROVER HURRICANE FORCE AT THIS POINT AND THE TREES ARE REALLY TAKING A BEATING A LOT TO TREE BIG GIANT TREE LIMBS HAVE BEEN COMING DOWN NOW. IT IS JUST THE CITY IS TAKING A BEATING. I'VE BEEN HEARING A LOT OF SIRENS, LOT EMERGENCY VEHICLES TRY TO RESPOND A LOT OF TRANSFORMERS EXPLODING AS WELL. YOU JUST HEAR A BIG EXPLOSION. SOUND. IT'S BASICALLY. IDRIS, FORMER COMPLETELY OVER LOOTING. WELL, BECAUSE OF THE FORCE OF THE WINDS PUSHING ON THE POWER LINES. SO DEFINITELY SEEING POWER OUTAGES NOW. AND WE'RE JUST SEEING A LOT OF IMPACTS NOW IN OUR AREA OR IN MORGAN CITY. AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO JUST BE RIGHT IN THE BRUNT OF THIS STORM. I AT LEAST FOR THE NEXT 30 MINUTES OR SO UNTIL WE DO EVENTUALLY HOPEFULLY GETTING TO THAT HIGH. MIGHT ACTUALLY FAIRLY SKIRT THE EDGE OF THE EYE WALL ON THE WESTERN SIDE. WHAT I TELL YOU WHAT THESE WINDS HAVE BEEN RIPPING HERE, SEEING A LOT OF DAMAGE, TREES. WE'RE REALLY GETTING DAMAGE HERE. POWER LINES GETTING DAMAGE. AND WE'RE JUST GOING TO CONTINUE TO SEE THIS RELENTLESS RAIN AND THIS RELENTLESS WIND IN OUR AREA. IT HAS BEEN VERY BAD HERE IN MORGAN CITY, A NO-NO. WE MIGHT EVEN SEE STRONGER GUST. AGAIN, A VERY BIG GUYS COMING NOW. I SEE IT COMING IN THE DISTANCE ON GOING TO GREECE PORT. >> ERIN VERY BIG GAS COMING THROUGH RIGHT NOW. IT PRETTY MUCH BACK TO SQUAT DOWN BRACE FOR THESE WIND SAYS THEY COME THROUGH. IF YOU GET TAKEN OFF GUARD BY THESE WINDS. THIS WILL BLOW YOU OVER THE STATE, THE WINDS AND ACTUALLY EVEN SHIELDED FROM THE HARDEST OF THE WINDS RIGHT NOW. I GOT THIS BRICK GOVERNMENTAL BUILDING RIGHT NOW THAT IT'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. AND A LOT OF THE WINDS ARE BLOWING UP AND OVER THAT BUILDING. BUT WE ARE SEEING SOME WINDS COME AROUND TO GO TO UP IN BLOOM THE AROUND A LITTLE BIT. BUT IF I WAS TO STEP IN A LITTLE BIT FARTHER OUT THAT WAY. IF I COULD STAND UP IN THIS, THIS IS VERY INTENSE WINDS. SHOWING AS WINDS I'VE DEFINITELY SEEN IN MY LIFE AND I WE'RE GETTING CITY IS TAKING A BEATING HERE. HOPE EVERYONE IS SHELTERED. BEHIND SOME SORT OF BUILDING INSIDE YOUR HOUSE. AND SHARPLY FROM THESE WINDS CAUSE. IT'S LIKE THE ONES THAT COULD BLOW OUT WINDOWS AS WELL. I MEAN, THIS IS EXTREMELY INTENSE HERE. CITY AND THAT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THAT VERY MUCH GOOD AND SEASON RAIN, THOUGH. IT'S YOU HIT ME IN THE FACE. IT'S A GOOD THING TO IT AS VERY GOOD THING TO IT. IN THIS BUILDING. IT'S TRYING TO PROTECT ME. DOING GOOD. TOTALLY A GREAT JOB AT THE MOMENT LOSING SOME OF THESE WINDS GO UP AND AROUND BUILDING. CONTINUING TO RELENTLESS RAIN BANDS. YOU CAN ACTUALLY LOOK OFF BEHIND ME IN SEASON WHEN THE WIND GOING THROUGH THIS PARKING LOT OF THIS BOOM WAS ABOUT TO JUST TAKE OFF A SECOND AGO AND PEOPLE FROM THE ARMY ACTUALLY HAD TO GO AND SECURE IT. SO THEY COULD USE IT LATER WHEN THEY DO ON 40. OKAY. WE'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME DAMAGE NOW. JUST HAD SOMETHING COME OFF THIS RIG. I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO STAND HERE FOR TOO MUCH LONGER. YEAH. JUST SAW SOMETHING FLY OFF. 3 FEAR RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. SO THIS MIGHT GET A LITTLE DANGEROUS HERE. STANDING OUT HERE. WE'RE PROBABLY GOING TO TAKE SHELTER HERE VERY SOON. WITH THESE WINDS WILL CALM DOWN A LITTLE BIT AS WE GET IN CLOSE LISTEN TO THE EYE. BUT MY GOOD. THAT'S A GOOD STRONG LOOK AT THIS COMING RIGHT NOW IS SOME OF THE STRONGEST GUST I'VE SEEN IN THE SYSTEM HERE IT COMES BIG, STRONG WIND GUSTS RIGHT GOING RIGHT AT THIS PARKING LOT. TONS NOISES RIGHT NOW. WE'RE GETTING HELP. >> CITY, WE'RE IN THE SPORT. HURRICANE FRANCINE. >> IT'S VERY HARD TO STAND UP OUT HERE IN THESE WINDS. AND ALTHOUGH THESE TYPE OF WINDS ARE NOT GOING TO COME, TIBETAN REGION, DENHAM SPRINGS. GOT TAKEN OFF GUARD THERE. BUT THE LEFTOVER FROM THIS EYE WALL. WE'LL BE COMING TO YOU AND YOU WILL NEED NOT BE ON THE ROADWAYS. AGAIN, WE'RE NOT EXPECTING THESE TYPE OF LIKE GETTING ALL THE WAY INLAND TO BATON ROUGE DENHAM SPRINGS BECAUSE THE SYSTEM IS GOING TO SLOWLY WEAKEN AS IT DOES SO. BUT IS WINDS WILL START TO SPREAD OUT MORE AREAS AROUND SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA BEGIN GOING BIG IN THAT SPIRIT. SO ABOVE TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS MAIL-IN, WE'RE JUST IN THE BRUNT OF IT A MISSIONS A WALK OVER HERE FOR A SECOND BECAUSE WE'RE SEEING A GOOD AMOUNT OF TREE DEBRIS RIGHT OVER HERE IN THIS AREA AS WE CONTINUE TO SEE THE WINDS REALLY RIPPING APART SOME OF THESE TREES. IT'S JUST LIKE THESE BIG GUST TO COME THROUGH. THEY RIPPED APART SOME OF THE TREE. SHE THE BIG TREE LIMBS TO COME DOWN AROUND THE AREA SO FAR. HAVE YOU SEEN ANY COMPLETE TREE? >> SEE ONE RIGHT OF THEIR BIG OLD TREE LIMB MIGHT BE JUST OUT OF VIEW OF THE PART. IT'S ACROSS. THERE'S GIANT TREE LIMB. THE WE'RE IN THE THICK OF IT HERE. THIS IS VERY INTENSE IN THIS BUILDING WAS NOT RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF I WOULD NOT BE DOING SO WELL RIGHT NOW. >> WHEN EXPERIENCE, EVEN THOUGH PARTIALLY SHELTERED BY THIS BUILDING. >> YEAH, THAT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE BIG, BIG GOAL SET TO MOVE OUR AREA. YOU CAN ACTUALLY EVEN LOOK OFF THAT WAY. AND YOU CAN SEE SOME OF TREES THAT ARE REALLY BENDING AROUND IN THE AREA. SO IT IS GETTING VERY INTENSE HERE. I REALLY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO LOOK AT. LATELY MORE FULL. IT'S GOTTEN PRETTY WATERLOGGED HERE. AND SO I DON'T KNOW ACTUALLY HOW CLOSE TO THE EYE WE ARE. HOPEFULLY WE GET INTO IT SAYING BECAUSE MORGAN CITY IS TAKING A BEATING RIGHT NOW. SO YEAH, LIVE IN MORGAN CITY. MY