First hurricane Katrina, now a tornado
New Orleans area ravaged again as bad weather rocks much of the U.S.
NEW ORLEANS — Hundreds of New Orleans area residents sifted through debris Wednesday as recovery efforts ramped up after a ferocious tornado with winds up to 265 kilometres an hour tore through the same area hurricane Katrina ravaged 12 years ago.
Five tornadoes struck parts of southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday, injuring dozens. New Orleans East, home to the Katrinadevastated 9th Ward, suffered the greatest damage when the violent winds swept through, destroying homes and businesses, flipping cars and trucks and leaving thousands without power.
No deaths were reported, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said. More than 30 people were injured, six of them with moderate to severe wounds, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said.
Broken wood, downed power lines and nails lay outside Charron Carmouche’s house as a grim reminder of what happened hours before. “My sister and my little nephew were in the house, in the tub,” Carmouche said. “Somebody had to kick in the door to rescue them.”
Kim Le said her backyard was “completely demolished.” At her parent’s house, a neighbour’s roof now sits on the top of their home. “My mom’s bathroom is caved in because of the damage,” she said.
Le’s father, Francis, lived through Katrina but said he has never seen anything like this. Despite the damage to his home and lack of electricity, he plans on lighting candles and staying put.
“I’ve been living here about 20 years,” Le said. “I’ve never seen a tornado over here.”
The U.S. National Weather Service sent survey teams Wednesday across Louisiana to determine the strength and paths of the twisters.
Edwards issued a disaster declaration for the affected area, adding he was heartbroken to see those who endured Katrina suffering again.
He promised the state would provide the affected residents with the resources they need as quickly as possible. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu also declared a state of emergency for the City of New Orleans.
NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans remained closed Wednesday while security and emergency operations crews assessed damage from Tuesday’s tornado.
Elsewhere in the U.S., there was no shortage of weatherrelated stories on Wednesday: • In Nevada, the National Weather Service said a dam had failed in the northern part of the state, causing flash floods and lifethreatening situations for residents near the Utah border.
The weather service said there were reports of at least 0.6 to 0.9 metres of water rapidly moving downstream Wednesday night.
The Elko Daily Free Press reported that the depth of water might increase as the dam continues to fail. The National Weather Service in Elko extended the flash-flood warning until late tonight. Significant flash flooding was reported in Montello and authorities closed State Route 233 from Interstate 80 at Oasis to Montello. • In Wyoming, a windstorm was suspected of downing 17 steel utility poles along the Moose-Wilson Road on Tuesday night, causing a power outage in Teton County that could last for several days and forcing the closure of a popular ski resort.
The outage initially affected about 3,500 customers in Teton Village, the Jackson Hole Airport and three subdivisions, said Lower Valley Energy spokesman Brian Tanabe.
Wind gusts of up to 150 km/h were reported in west-central Wyoming Tuesday night, but Tanabe said it’s not clear if it was straight winds, microbursts or something else that bent some of the steel poles over like they were made of balsa wood. • In northern California, water officials were to release test flows from a reservoir to determine how much water could rush past a damaged spillway.
The Department of Water Resources said it planned to release up to 20,000 cubic feet per second Wednesday afternoon through the Oroville Dam’s main spillway.
The department closed the spillway Tuesday after noticing water was flowing irregularly. After stopping the flow, engineers found a gaping hole in the concrete chute.
Oroville is California’s secondlargest reservoir and is 80 per cent full due to a winter of wet storms that continued Wednesday. The spillway dumps water into the Feather River. • In the northeast U.S., a densely populated swath of the U.S. was preparing for winter’s harshest thump yet, a fast-moving storm that could bring more than 30 cm of snow, strong winds and coastal flooding.
Some places were poised to experience an atmospheric yo-yo: Philadelphia and New York topped 15 C on Wednesday, were expecting at least 15 cm of snow today and were bracing for bitter cold temperatures by tonight.
“This is going to be a big punch,” said Benjamin Sipprell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. • In Montana, residents of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation were digging out Wednesday from at least 0.9 metres of snow while bracing for high winds expected to send the snow drifting.
Freight trains resumed travel through the Glacier National Park area after BNSF Railway completed avalanche mitigation work. Amtrak Empire Builder trains were scheduled to leave Seattle, Portland, Oregon and Chicago on time Wednesday and move through Montana today.