Severe storms turn deadly, wreak havoc in South

Strong storms flooded New Orleans streets and demolished buildings in one of the city’s suburbs Wednesday, part of a severe weather system that pounded communities across much of the South, killing one in Mississippi.

In Mississippi, one person was killed and one was injured by severe weather that pounded the state Tuesday night and Wednesday, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said. The agency also said 72 homes were damaged. The death and most of the property damage occurred in Scott County, east of the capital city of Jackson.

In Slidell, Louisiana, northeast of New Orleans, multiple people were injured and first responders were scouring neighborhoods after reports of a morning tornado strike.

Police video shows roofs torn off of homes and apartments, tree limbs littering the streets and flooded yards that resembled Louisiana swamps. Outside a McDonald’s restaurant, a car was on its side, power poles leaned toward the ground and large pieces of the McDonald’s Golden Arches sign were strewn about.

High-water vehicles were mobilized for rescues from rising water — even as officials and property owners were assessing damage from a suspected tornado, Suezeneau said. Injuries ranged from “minor to moderate” he said.

First responders were able to remove people trapped inside a heavily damaged apartment building, police said.

After several hours of steady, often heavy rain, New Orleans suspended bus service as water collected in streets and flooded highway underpasses. An estimated 8 inches of rain was reported to have fallen in parts of the city, the latest challenge to the city’s antiquated street drainage system.

GERALD HERBERT/ASSOCIATED PRESS Robin Marquez, project coordinator for E.C.O. Builders, walks past her son’s heavily damaged car after they sheltered in place inside the business, for what she said was a tornado, in the aftermath of severe storms Wednesday that swept through the region in Slidell, Louisiana.