In recent years, a series of powerful storms have battered Louisiana. In 2020, Hurricane Laura devastated Lake Charles in southwest Louisiana. The Category 4 storm’s violent winds destroyed homes, overturned large vehicles, uprooted trees, left many residents without power, and claimed dozens of lives.

Just a year later, Category 4 Hurricane Ida plunged southern Louisiana into similar chaos — except it wreaked havoc in the more populated areas in and around New Orleans. Ida dumped more than 10 inches of rain on parts of the Gulf Coast and caused a storm surge of up to 14 feet.

Hurricanes Laura and Ida were tragic examples of how human-caused climate change is making hurricanes more dangerous, and they left a lasting impression on the state, leaving residents and infrastructure vulnerable to repeated damage and further from recovery. Years later, some residents are still waiting for financial help, while others are in legal battles with insurance companies.

Francine is the 12th hurricane to hit Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina devastated the state in 2005, with five of those hits coming in the past five years. That’s more hurricanes than any other state — Florida (10) and Texas (nine) — has seen in the same period.