400,000 people without power due to heavy rain and wind on the Gulf Coast

More than 400,000 people without power in Louisiana and Mississippi

Patrick SmitPatrick Smith is an editor and reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London.

A large number of energy customers are without power as Francine moves across New Orleans.

According to PowerOutage.us, as of 4:30 a.m., more than 372,000 outages were reported in Louisiana and nearly 30,000 in Mississippi. There are fears that number could rise as the bad weather continues.

Debris blocks roads in Louisiana as Francine approaches

A fallen tree blocks an intersection in Houma, Louisiana, yesterday as Hurricane Francine approaches from the Gulf of Mexico.

Louisiana residents brace as Hurricane Francine heads toward coastline — Brandon Bell / Getty Images

Francine strikes as she crosses Louisiana

Jay Gray And Angie Lassman

Reporting from New Orleans

Extreme flooding has hit New Orleans and more than 350,000 power outages have been reported as Francine, now a tropical storm, moves inland. NBC News’ Jay Gray and meteorologist Angie Lassman have the latest details on Early Today.