Photo: NOLAFD/Twitter
At least one person has died after a large tornado barreled through New Orleans Tuesday night, according to the National Weather Service.
Two twisters touched downs in the New Orleans area around 7:30 p.m. local time, one near east New Orleans and one in Lacombe on either side of Lake Pontchartrain,the agency reportedearly Wednesday morning.
Mayor Latoya Cantrellsaid on Twitterthat one of the tornadoes touched down shortly before 8 p.m. in the Lower Ninth Ward. Approximately 8,000 residents were left without power following the dangerous windstorms,she added.
Winds topped 100 mphduring the storm, according to WDSU News meteorologist Devon Lucie.
NOLAFD/Twitter
The storm killed at least one person and injured several others in neighboring Arbai, where “the most significant damage occurred,” per NWS New Orleans/Baton Rouge.
St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnistold WDSU Newsthat the storm caused widespread damage in the parish.
Local news stations broadcast the tornado live on the air as they urged residents in the area to seek shelter. Multiple clips of the twister, includingfootage from WDSU News' live coverageof the weather event, appeared to show a second vortex spinning off from the main storm as it plowed across the city.
NWS New Orleans/Baton Rougeretweeted a videoof the scary storm from another angle of the tornado about an hour after the storm had passed.
One New Orleans resident described the devastationto The Associated Press: “I see downed powerlines. A church is completely destroyed. Three businesses are completely destroyed. There are eight blocks of houses missing their roofs.”
President McInnis also described seeing multiple homes in tatters while touring the damage after the storm in his interview with WDSU News.
Michelle Malasovich told the AP that Tuesday night’s storm ramped up quickly. “It just kept getting louder and louder,” she said, later noting that her neighbor’s home was “in the middle of the street” due to the twister.
Three survey teams from NWS New Orleans/Baton Rouge will conduct damage surveys on Wednesday to determine both the strength and the track of Tuesday’s tornadoes, according to the agency.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwardssaid Tuesday on Twitterthat state agencies “are assisting local officials as needed as they assess the damage and impacts of these tornadoes.”
“My prayers are with you in Southeast Louisiana tonight. Please be safe. #lagov #lawx,” he wrote.
The New Orleans tornado was part ofa damaging line of stormsthat produced multiple tornadoes which blew through the Southeast early this week. At least one person was killed and several others were injured in Texas after a funnel cloud touched down in the Crockett area, the AP reports.
source: people.com
