RAINMAKER, AND TOO MUCH RAIN FELL TOO FAST. THIS MORNING, RESIDENTS IN NEW ORLEANS SURVEYING THE DAMAGE AFTER NOW TROPICAL STORM FRANCINE SLAMMED INTO NEW ORLEANS OVERNIGHT AS A FAST-MOVING CATEGORY 2 HURRICANE. THE BIG EASY TAKING A DIRECT HIT FROM POWERFUL WINDS, UP TO 100 MILES PER HOUR, RIPPING OFF ROOFS AND KNOCKING OUT POWER. >> THIS IS A SHELTER IN PLACE STORM. >> Reporter: FRANCINE ALSO POUNDING NEW ORLEANS AND NEARBY COASTAL COMMUNITIES WITH MORE THAN 8 INCHES OF RAIN, FLOODWATERS CUTTING OFF PARTS OF THE CITY. >> OFFICER! DO YOU HAVE A TRUCK RIGHT HERE? >> Reporter: NBC NEW ORLEANS AFFILIATE LIVE ON THE AIR WHEN A DRIVER DROVE RIGHT INTO A FLOODED OVERPASS AND STARTED TO SINK. >> IT SEEMS LIKE ONE PERSON IS IN THAT VEHICLE. >> Reporter: A GOOD SAMARITAN SPRINGING INTO ACTION TO SAVE HIS LIFE. >> THEY'RE WALKING A GUY BACK THAT WAY, I GUESS TO CHECK ON HIM, TO MAKE SURE HE'S GOOD. >> Reporter: A STORM SURGE OF UP TO 4 FEET FLOODING MAJOR HIGHWAYS. >> THE RAIN AND WIND IS AS STRONG AS IT'S BEEN, AND THE WAVES NOW CRASHING OVER THE SEA WALL. >> Reporter: IN NEW ORLEANS' JEFFERSON PARISH, RESIDENTS TOLD TO LIMIT WATER USAGE. >> WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS OUR SEWER SYSTEM BEING INUNDATED WITH GROUND WATER AND STORM WATER, AND IT'S BEING OVERWHELMED. >> Reporter: THE NATIONAL GUARD NOW DEPLOYED INTO COMMUNITIES. >> WE HAVE SEARCH AND RESCUE BOATS, WE HAVE HIGH-WATER VEHICLES, WE'VE GOT SOLDIERS THAT WILL REACT, ONCE THE STORM LIFTS. >> Reporter: BUT EVEN THE GUARDSMEN NOT IMMUNE TO FRANCINE'S IMPACT. ONE OF ITS TRUCKS SKIDDING OFF A RAIN-SLICKED ROAD. LUCKILY, NO ONE WAS HURT. THE STORM SETTING OFF TORNADO WARNINGS ACROSS LOUISIANA AND SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI. >> I'M JUST PRAYING AND ASK THE LORD TO PROTECT US. >> Reporter: AND ALL FLIGHTS IN AND OUT OF THE NEW ORLEANS AIRPORT, CANCELED. THE POWERFUL SYSTEM STRENGTHENED BY THE WARM WATERS OF THE GULF, HITTING MANY COMMUNITIES STILL BEARING THE SCARS OF PAST HURRICANES. NOW A NEW RECOVERY BEGINS. AND ON THAT POINT THIS MORNING, WE'RE IN JEFFERSON PARISH, WHICH IS MOSTLY A SUBURBAN COMMUNITY RIGHT NOKES NEW ORLEANS. FOLKS HERE, MANY OF THEM, WERE JUST STARTING TO GET THEIR INSURANCE PAYOUTS FROM HURRICANE IDA FROM 2021. THEY'RE NOW DEALING WITH ALL OF THIS WATER AND MANY NEIGHBORHOODS DEALING WITH SEVERE PROPERTY DAMAGE. YOU MAY NOTICE SOME OF THE LIGHTS FLICKERING IN THE BACK. THERE'S JUST UNDER 300,000 CUSTOMERS STILL WITHOUT POWER IN THE GREATER NEW ORLEANS AREA AND SOUTHERN LOUISIANA. AND THAT'S A BIG THING, BECAUSE, HODA, AS YOU KNOW, NOT TO HAVE POWER, NOT TO HAVE AC IN THE SUMMERTIME IN NEW ORLEANS CAN BE ABSOLUTELY UNBEARABLE. HODA, BACK TO YOU. >> TOM, I KNOW YOU KNOW THAT AREA VERY WELL. YOUR FAMILY HAS SOME ROOTS THERE IN LOUISIANA. WE APPRECIATE THAT REPORT. >>> LET'S GO TO AL NOW. IT WAS A QUICK MOVER, BUT, BOY, DID IT DO SOME DAMAGE. >> IT REALLY DID, UNFORTUNATELY. GUYS, GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING TO YOU. IN FACT, LOUISIANA HAS NOW SEEN SEVEN TORNADOES IN THE LAST EIGHT YEARS -- I SHOULD SAY HURRICANES, MAKING LANDFALL. AND SO THIS ONE IS JUST THE NUMBER EIGHT IN THERE, NUMBER SEVEN. 60 MILES NORTH OF NEW ORLEANS RIGHT NOW, 45-MILE-PER-HOUR WINDS, IT'S MOVING NORTHEAST AT 12. AND LOOK AT THIS, AS TOM WAS MENTIONING, WE HAVE TORNADO WATCHES NOW STRETCHING FROM ALABAMA ALL THE WAY INTO FLORIDA, TORNADO WARNING RIGHT NOW IN THE PANHANDLE, TO THE EAST OF PANAMA CITY, THIS THING MAKES ITS WAY DURING THE DAY TODAY INTO TOMORROW INTO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY. WE'RE LOOKING AT ANOTHER 6 INCHES OF RAIN, CONSIDERABLE FLOODING LIKELY WITH THIS SYSTEM. AND IN FACT, YOU CAN SEE IN CENTRAL ALABAMA TO NORTHERN ALABAMA, WE HAVE A MODERATE RISK OF FLOODING WITH RAINFALL RATES, 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR. A TORNADO RISK INTO CENTRAL ALABAMA ALL THE WAY BACK INTO THE PANHANDLE, INTO THIS AFTERNOON, AS TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE DURING THIS SYSTEM. AS IT MAKES ITS WAY TO THE NORTH AND STRONG WIND GUSTS, 60 MILES PER HOUR, DOWNED TREES, POWER OUTAGES, AS WELL. AND WE'RE NOT DONE YET. THE ATLANTIC STARTING TO GET REALLY ACTIVE. THE NEXT AREA WE'RE WATCHING IS A DEVELOPME