Rain from Hurricane Francine has been pounding the New Orleans metro, causing widespread street flooding in many neighborhoods and the city and in Jefferson Parish.

NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Francine rapidly strengthened before making landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of people, flooding a cemetery and dumping rain on New Orleans, a city that relies on a uniquely complicated network of canals and pumps to get the water out.

The flood watch is in effect until Saturday morning. Forecasters said that urban metro areas south of Interstate 10 and 12 — including New Orleans, Gulfport and Biloxi — will face the biggest threat of heavy rainfall. Flash flooding in localized areas and road closures are possible.

Strong wind and rain hit parts of southeast Louisiana overnight into Thursday, September 12, as Francine made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane and triggered widespread flooding in the region.The storm weakened to a tropical depression as it moved inland,

To assess the risk of flooding at a specific address, New Orleans residents are encouraged to explore the LSU Ag Center’s Flood Map Tool. The map — which is maintained by FEMA and used by mortgage lenders to determine insurance requirements — displays which parts of the city are most likely to flood in the event of major rainfall.

Hurricane Francine came ashore in southern Louisiana on Wednesday, pounding New Orleans with heavy rains and gusty winds while threatening the wider Gulf Coast with a potentially deadly storm surge that led to evacuation orders for thousands of people.

For a city that routinely sees flooding, New Orleans residents and business owners were taken aback by the intense rains of Hurricane Francine, which still was at Category 1 strength when it passed over the city Wednesday night.

Authorities in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner said the area was witnessing the worst level of flooding since Hurricane Katrina.